Canadian officials have released a report they say shows why Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel should remain in custody.

Zundel has been in the Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold, Ont., since being deported from the U.S. last month for overstaying his visa.

Zundel, who left Canada three years ago, has applied for refugee status in Canada, saying he'll be jailed if sent to Germany, where he was convicted in absentia of spreading hate literature.

Could incite violence

A report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says Zundel is an internationally known leader in the white supremacist movement.

It concludes that while Zundel is not violent, he supports neo-Nazi groups that advocate and use violence.

It adds that he's in a position to influence followers to commit acts of violence in Canada and abroad.

The report says a U.S.-based Web site that Zundel is accused of using to spread hate describes Adolf Hitler as "patient and forebearing," while Jews are described as corrupt parasites.

Zundel says he got into trouble because immigration officials in the U.S. made mistakes with his paperwork.

Meanwhile, the German government has offered to take Zundel off Canadian hands and pay for his deportation to Germany.

The offer was made in a letter released Monday.