Austrian court to release Holocaust denier

VIENNA, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- British historian David Irving, imprisoned for denying the Holocaust's existence, should be released on probation, an Austrian court ruled.

Irving was convicted in February in a case that triggered a worldwide debate on the limits of freedom of speech, the BBC said Wednesday. His conviction was related to remarks he made denying the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz.

Austria is one of about a dozen countries with laws against Holocaust denial.

Irving's 3-year sentence was changed to one year in jail and two years suspended. Conditions of his probation, or whether he'd be allowed to leave the country, are not known, the BBC said.