Lithuania blacklists British Holocaust denier Irving

Evelina Gudzinskaite, director of the Migration Department, told BNS on Wednesday that the decision had been made based on material from the Foreign Ministry.

"The ban is in force until April 15, 2024," she said.

Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said earlier this month that Irving was not welcome in Lithuania.

"The spread of his ideas denying the Holocaust and praising Adolf Hitler is a crime in

Lithuania and we can't allow such crimes to be committed," he said, commenting on reports that Irving planned to visit countries in the region later this year.

Linkevicius said he had information indicating that the controversial British historian, who has announced plans to visit Poland in September, might come to Lithuania as well.

Irving was sentenced to three years in prison by an Austrian court in 2006 and was deported to Britain a year later.

Under the Lithuanian Criminal Code, a person may face up to two years in jail for denying or grossly trivializing the crimes of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said last month that Irving would likely be barred from entering his country, where Holocaust denial is also illegal.

The author of several books, Irvin denies the fact that the Nazis killed 6 million Jews during World War Two.