"The Hungarian President of the republic, dr. Laszlo Solyom has given his signature to the law in which any person denying the Holocaust, could face a three-year jail sentence.

Earlier the Hungarian Parliament rejected an amendment drafted by the center-right opposition party FIDESZ, calling for more stringent and adding crimes by Hungary’s pro-Nazi and communist regimes to the renewed bill.

Hungary’s Jewish and Roma (Gypsy) communities welcomed the long awaited bill, saying that finally something was done by the authorities to respect the genocide that took place in Europe.

Based on historical facts at least 600,000 Hungarians died in the Holocaust. Hungary once had a proud community of some 800,000 Hungarian Jews of which at least 550,000 perished in German-operated death camps. An estimated 50,000 Gypsies (often referred to as Roma) also died in the Holocaust.

“Solyom signed the bill because, in his opinion, the law is not unconstitutional,” said Presidential spokesman Ferenc Kumin. Solyom had been a constitutional judge for several years before taking his presidential post. In Hungary the presidency does not enjoy powers like those in the US, but it does give certain powers, like the one to veto or confirm laws on a second or third reading."

By Tamas S. Kiss, published on XpatLoop.com with the permission of BudapestReport.com