SHAME ON DENMARK! Lars Hedegaard found guilty of hate speech
President of the Free Press Society, Lars Hedegaard, declared guilty of racist statements.
Lars Hedegaard was today found guilty of hate speech under Article 266b of the Danish penal code. The background is a good 35 minutes long interview to the site snaphanen.dk which Hedegaard gave in December 2009.
Here Hedegaard said, among other things, that “girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins or their dad.”
Lars Hedegaard has previously expressed regret if his statements gave the impression that he would accuse all Muslims of abusing their children.
The day after the interview he stressed that his opinions were about Islam and not Muslims.
In January Hedegaard was acquitted of racist statements in the lower court of Frederiksberg. The court believed that his statements were insulting, but the case was dismissed because he did not know that the interview, which took place during a Christmas lunch, would be published.
The prosecutor appealed the verdict to the Eastern Regional Court, which today claimed that Hedegaard knew his statements would be published. He is therefore declared guilty of racist statements.
Lars Hedegaard is sentenced to a fine of DKK 5,000 (approximately $1000).
Lars Hedegaard states: “The real losers today are freedom of speech and Muslim women. How can we speak up for them if we risk getting a state sanctioned label of racism?”
Lars Hedegaard will appeal the verdict.
§ 266b of the Danish penal code:
“Whoever publicly or with the intent of public dissemination issues a pronouncement or other communication by which a group of persons are threatened, insulted or denigrated due to their race, skin colour, national or ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation is liable to a fine or incarceration for up to two years.”
Comments
By Simon Rodonalwitz on May 4th, 2011 at 9:35 pm
It’s true, what he says. Since when is it racist to remark on a well known statistic? Shame on Denmark indeed. We should not be made afraid of speaking out about these things by our own governments!¡!
By OnTheRoadToSuccess on May 6th, 2011 at 4:33 am
Free speech has legal limitations and the right to free expression goes hand in glove with duties and responsibilities. I think IFPS should educate the public about the legal limitations of free speech and unequivocally condemn offensive and denigrating comments. It’s worth mentioning that I’m a fierce human rights advocate and I understand that there’s a fine line between free speech and hate speech.
By D. Ashley on May 6th, 2011 at 8:36 am
Denmark is cowering to Islamic extremists instead of protecting the native people that make up their country. They are punishing those that speak truth and allowing antisemitism to flourish.
By Dominik on May 8th, 2011 at 11:33 am
They do this, for they fear that otherwise terrorists shall blow more things up. But on the other hand, who rules in Denmark??
By M. James on May 11th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Yes. SHAME on Denmark.
Muslim countries are the very first to deny free speech. This is not surprising to anyone who has read the Biography of Muhammad and seen how he handled the matter, but it is totally unbecoming and abhorrent within a civil society.
And the double standard. Is Denmark now going to convict Muslims of “hate speech” when they recite certain Qur’an verses that call Jews “apes and pigs” or that insult Jesus (offending Christian sensibilities) by saying that he is not God? I doubt it. The prevention of free speech goes one way and one way only for those who uphold “political correctness” and who get concerned about “incitement” – and that is to protect the sensibilities of Muslims.
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