Does America still stand for freedom?
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=5626
On Tuesday, March 10, UK citizens Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle, “The Heretical 2,” appeared in a federal court in California to present arguments why they should not be deported to England for imprisonment.
The news media are silent on this, for reasons that will become obvious.
On July 13, 2008, the two men were convicted of non-violent speech crimes in England, after posting their opinions on a web site that is hosted in the United States. The pair escaped to Los Angeles, seeking political asylum on July 14, 2008. They chose the USA because they had received written confirmation from US Courts that their writings were perfectly legal in the USA, where the works are hosted, and protected by the First Amendment. Their conviction in England means that undemocratic speech and expression laws supersede the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
To win political asylum in the USA, claimants must prove that they have a well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland, on one of several grounds, including political opinion. US courts decide on a case-by-case basis whether to grant asylum.At Los Angeles airport Sheppard and Whittle applied for political asylum, but were immediately jailed in Santa Ana California, where they have been held ever since. If the men are returned to England, they will suffer dramatically increased sentences, not only because they are fugitives, but because nonviolent “holocaust denial” and “race hate” are subject to enhanced penalties under the British Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2000.
Whittle and Sheppard’s web site is registered with a web hosting service in Torrance, California. The US web site is where the “crimes” allegedly occurred. British authorities claim that even though the web site is not registered in England, the two men are guilty in England, because people can see the web site in England.
Thus, if you question historical events on a web site, then no matter where you are in the world, you can potentially be arrested under British, German, French, Austrian, or Israeli law, and sent to Europe or Israel for imprisonment. Foreign governments have power above the US Constitution’s First Amendment.
The court heard arguments for asylum, and will hear additional arguments on March 12 and March 24. The court’s decision will set a precedent one way or the other. If the court denies asylum, then the enemies of free speech will celebrate. There will be nowhere in the world that dissidents can flee to.
This is one reason why Sheppard and Whittle chose the USA when they fled. Knowing they were about to be sentenced anyway, they decided to go the the USA. Even if the enemies of free speech win, the legal implications will be so horrendous that their agenda will suffer another blow.
Foreign governments will have power above the US Constitution.
It is amazing to many readers in the United States that people are still jailed for expressing non-violent http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=86 and various “hate crime” laws. One does not have to agree with the style or content of Sheppard and Whittle’s work to agree that nobody should be imprisoned, beaten or terrorized for expressing unpopular views non-violently.
First they came for the thought criminals…