The Trial of Dutch right-wing MP Geert Wilders on hate crime charges begins today in Amsterdam in a case that will test the limits of free speech in the Netherlands. Mr Wilders already faces five counts of religious insult and anti-Muslim incitement. The charges stem from his 2008 short film, Fitna, which offended many Muslims by [...]
As of 1 January 2010 the offence of blasphemy (Defamation Act 2009) has come into force in Ireland. In fact this is not a “new” offence as blasphemy was a common law offence under the Irish Constitution and the Defamation Act of 1961 also made it a statutory crime, but did not define what blasphemy was. [...]
Last night a majority of Swiss voters (57%) voted to ban the building of minarets on new mosques. This has been described as a “surprise” result and the Swiss government has since issued a statement saying that although it respected the outcome it was “regretted”.
The proposal had been put forward by the Swiss People’s Party, [...]