London - An Australian man of German extraction wanted in Germany on charges of denying the mass killing of Jews in the Holocaust has been freed on bail by a court in London following extradition proceedings.

Westminster Magistrate's Court confirmed Thursday that a judge had thrown out an extradition bid from Germany for 64-year-old Gerald Frederick Toben, arrested at London's Heathrow airport on October 1 on the basis of a European Union (EU) arrest warrant.

District Judge Daphne Wickham had ruled the warrant invalid Wednesday because it contained insufficient detail of the allegations made against Toben, who had been released pending an appeal on strict bail conditions.

The warrant had contained only "sparse" details about Toben's alleged offences, including exactly what they were and where and when they took place, the judge ruled.

However, as lawyers for Toben hailed the decision as a victory, legal representatives acting on behalf of the German authorities said they would take the matter to the High Court in London.

Toben, a historian and former high school teacher, is wanted by a court in Mannheim, southern Germany, on charges of Holocaust denial in spreading anti-Semitic propaganda.

Unlike in Britain, denying the Holocaust is an offence in Germany with a maximum jail term of five years.

Toben will be freed on a bail sum of 100,000 pounds (160,000 dollars. He will have to provide residence at an approved address as well as written confirmation from the Australian High Commission of which passports he holds, and will not be allowed to access the internet.

Toben's lawyers had argued that the arrest warrant was flawed, but Melanie Cumberland, acting for the German authorities, said the required information could be provided.

She said Toben should be extradited so he could be put on trial for posting anti-Semitic and revisionist material on the internet in Australia, Germany and other countries between 2000 and 2004.

In 1999, Toben spent seven months in jail in Germany and has served an 11-month sentence in Austria for Holocaust denial.

David Irving, the British historian and Holocaust denier, said after the ruling that he believed the High Court would uphold the judge's decision.

"This shows that we defeated Germany again, we've defeated Europe, in fact," Irving told reporters after the ruling. (dpa)