Polish lawmakers okay changes to Holocaust law

Polish lawmakers have passed changes to a disputed Holocaust speech law, removing criminal provisions for attributing Nazi crimes to Poles.

The speaker of parliament, Marek Kuchcinski, said that the amendments passed 388 to 25 with five abstentions during the Wednesday vote.

The original version of the law, passed earlier this year, called for prison terms of up to three years for falsely accusing the Polish nation of Holocaust crimes that were committed by Nazi Germany.

Poland’s nationalist ruling party, Law and Justice, said it was trying to protect historic truth about Poland, which was a victim of World War II.

But the law sparked a major diplomatic crisis with Israel and the United States.

— AP