(JTA) — British Holocaust denier David Irving has been barred from entering Lithuania for the next five years.
The ban, announced on Wednesday, was requested by the country’s Foreign Ministry, according to reports.
“Irving’s views and his efforts to trivialize the Holocaust are unacceptable and constitute a crime in Lithuania,” ministry spokeswoman Rasa Jakilaitiene told reporters.
The announcement comes more than a month after Irving advertised that he will lead a tour of Nazi death camps in Poland, including Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec and Majdanek, as well as other Nazi historical sites.
Earlier this month, a Warsaw-based Holocaust commemoration group petitioned the Polish border police to block Irving’s entry to the country.
Lithuania is concerned that Irving might try to bring the tour into Lithuania, which borders Poland, and Latvia. The head of the Lithuanian Jewish community Faina Kukliansky told reporters that the community welcomes the ban.
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