 By Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld On Jan. 23, 2004, at 2:33 p.m., an e-mail popped up on my computer screen from the solicitors for Saudi billionaire Khalid bin Mahfouz threatening to sue me in London for libel. My first thought was, “He found the wrong victim.” I then called my lawyer to find out how best I could fight back. I was determined to prevent the Brits from robbing me of my free speech rights in America. After all, these rights were the result of the successful American fight against British oppression three centuries ago. Having been raised by parents who, as members of the Irgun, fought the British occupation for Israel’s independence, I grew up understanding the core value of freedom. Thus, the U.S. constitutional protection of freedom of expression had a major role in my decision to live here. At the time Mahfouz threatened to sue me in London, he already received many media outlets’ and writers’ retractions or apologies — most not U.K.-based. His frenzied use of the High Court in London to silence the media began in earnest after the 9/11 attacks on America. Read more ...Source: DC Examiner
U.S House Takes First Step to Protect Free Speech Against "Libel Tourists" Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 6146, crucial legislation that will protect American citizens from foreign libel judgments that undermine their fundamental First Amendment free speech rights. Dr. Ehrenfeld knows first-hand the effects of this destructive practice of forum shopping. She was sued in Britain, where the libel laws are plaintiff friendly, by Saudi billionaire Khalid Salim bin Mahfouz for alleging in her book Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It, that he funded al-Qaeda.
Rep. Peter King, who initiated the federal legislation agrees with Dr. Ehrenfeld, stating that although he supports H.R. 6146, “this bill does not go far enough nor does it resolve the problem of “libel tourism.” Even Rep. Cohen, the author of H.R. 6146, acknowledged his bill is not enough to “ address libel tourism,” and stated on the floor of the House that he is “committed to working with Mr. King to push for a public hearing… which advances additional measures to address libel tourism.”
Indeed, the ACLU, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, the PEN American Center, the Families of the 9/11 victims, and many others support the Free Speech Protection Act, 2008, sponsored by Senators Arlen Specter, Joseph Lieberman and Chuck Schumer, and Rep. Peter King. Source: Shariah Finance Watch
 By Andrew C. McCarthy
Last spring, legislators in New York State joined with the governor, David Paterson, in passing a law entitled the Libel Tourism Protection Act. The act has a narrow focus. It empowers the state’s courts to invalidate a judgment of libel or defamation against a writer or publisher who resides or does business in New York, so long as that judgment was obtained in a country that affords writers and publishers a lesser degree of free-speech protection than does the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Though the law does not say so explicitly, it was passed without much controversy because a writer in New York State was in danger of being driven into penury by one of the world’s richest men—a Saudi banker with Irish citizenship who has undertaken to intimidate and silence writers, editors, and publishers daring to examine his role in the murky world of Islamic charitable giving. Over the past decades, Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz has become the world’s foremost “libel tourist,” journeying beyond his own country to find a hospitable judge’s ear in Great Britain. According to the late Robert O. Collins—whose 2006 book Alms for Jihad, co-authored with J. Millard Burr, was one of bin Mahfouz’s targets—the tactic has been brilliantly successful. In three dozen cases in which legal action has been either threatened or carried through to trial, bin Mahfouz has succeeded in securing apologies and cash damages. Cambridge University Press, the publisher of Collins and Burr’s study, had every copy of their book put through a shredder and pulped. Source: Commentary MagazineH/T: Shariah Finance Watch
 By Warner Todd Huston America is the land of liberty. It is the place where political expression is protected by law and custom. It is the freest nation on Earth... unless, of course, you wish to talk about Islam. Then, unless you bow and scrape, unless you assert its supposed peacefulness, unless you bend over backwards to make sure that you don’t “offend” Islamists, you will be shut down. At least this is true if you wish to publish a book about Islam, it appears. Not long ago, a book titled “Alms for Jihad” was ridiculously voluntarily destroyed, “pulped” being the term, by its own publisher. This unusual action was taken because one activist Muslim took the bookseller to libel court and won, saying that he was somehow maligned by allegations in the book. The ridiculous part is that the book was published by Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, Mass. USA) but was sued by Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz in a British court. Neither the court nor the complainant was American. Yet, this foolish American publisher voluntarily destroyed its entire run and went to the effort to send a letter to libraries to tell them to remove the book from shelves over the verdict of this foreign court. Read more ...Source: Family Security Matters
By Ilan Weinglass
As many readers may know, The Free Speech Protection Act, is currently being considered by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The Act is essentially a federal version of New York State's "Libel Terrorism Protection Act," aka "Rachel's Law," designed to protect U.S. authors from superfluous, though legally enforceable, lawsuits in foreign jurisdictions. For those wishing to make a difference, a sample letter for a Congressman or Senator may be found here.
It is vitally important that this law pass, as Khalid bin Mahfouz and others have been using the rather absurd British libel laws to chill research into Saudi funding of terrorism and extremism. Source: The Terror Finance Blog
 Please send this letter to your lists, and to the addresses below. This will support "Rachel's Law" which is a very important bill to protect our First Amendment for all writers, speakers, bloggers, and in the end, all of us against the threat of being sued in England by the Middle East. This is THE ACTION OF THE DAY! Dear ...
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREE SPEECH PROTECTION ACT (S-2977 & H.R. 5814), aka "Rachel's Law", now before the Judiciary Committees in the House and Senate.
New York’s new law and the proposed federal legislation grew from the court battles of New York journalist and terrorism investigator, Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, whom a Saudi billionaire sued in Great Britain for Funding Evil; How Terrorism is Financed - And How to Stop It - although she is American and her book sold here, not in the U.K. But plaintiff-friendly British libel laws have made London a mecca for libel tourists wishing to intimidate authors worldwide. The suit against Dr. Ehrenfeld - like 40 previous cases that silenced many other American and New York authors - is an obvious attempt to dilute First Amendment protections of free press, and prevent investigations of terror-financing.
English libel law is an international menace, a national disgrace, a pre-democratic anachronism. It defends crooks, terrorists and tyrants from investigation. It threatens the free speech of people all over the world and causes untold damage to the reputation of this country.
In a tremendous victory for free speech rights and to provide legal protections from "libel terrorism" to New York authors and publishers, "Rachel's Law" adopted by the NY legislature and signed into law by Gov. David Patterson on April 30, 2008. Read more ...Source: Shariah Finance Watch
 By ARLEN SPECTER and JOE LIEBERMAN Our Constitution is one of our greatest assets in the fight against terrorism. A free-flowing marketplace of ideas, protected by the First Amendment, enables the ideals of democracy to defeat the totalitarian vision of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. That free marketplace faces a threat. Individuals with alleged connections to terrorist activity are filing libel suits and winning judgments in foreign courts against American researchers who publish on these matters. These suits intimidate and even silence writers and publishers. Under American law, a libel plaintiff must prove that defamatory material is false. In England, the burden is reversed. Disputed statements are presumed to be false unless proven otherwise. And the loser in the case must pay the winner's legal fees. Consequently, English courts have become a popular destination for libel suits against American authors. In 2003, U.S. scholar Rachel Ehrenfeld asserted in her book, "Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It," that Saudi banker Khalid Bin Mahfouz helped fund Osama bin Laden. The book was published in the U.S. by a U.S. company. But 23 copies were bought online by English residents, so English courts permitted the Saudi to file a libel suit there. Read more ...Source: The Wall Street Journal H/T: Shariah Finance Watch
By Douglas Farah There was good news on freedom of speech front yesterday, as the Wall Street Journal won a complete victory in a libel case involving terror finance issues. The lead reporter, the venerable Glenn Simpson, is now 4-0 since 9/11 in these types of cases. While the victory is a testament to his tenacity and care, it is also a testament to the courage of the WSJ in willing to fight and win these cases. Most are lost simply because the will to fight has gone out of so much of the media, who would often rather settle than protect the truth. A brief summary: The Tribunel Correctionel in Paris issued a ruling in Ancienne Bauche SA v The Wall Street Journal Europe. The Journal, editor Michael Williams and reporters Glenn Simpson and Benoit Faucon, were all acquitted on charges of felony and civil libel. Read more ...Source: Family Security Matters
Eleven editors of Danish newspapers are currently being sued in Denmark for blasphemy and for causing religious unrest between Muslims and Christians in Jordan, by reprinting the Muhammed cartoons. Read more ...Source: Islam in Europe
Governor Paterson has a bill on his desk that he should sign right away. The sooner he does, the sooner he will protect the free speech rights of New York authors, journalists and media outlets -- and, by extension, the public's right to know. The measure, which was passed unanimously by the Legislature on March 31, is called the Libel Terrorism Protection Act. The title is apt. It refers to the use of foreign libel laws, which are often far more friendly to plaintiffs than the free speech and free press protections afforded under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, to intimidate -- some would say gag writers and publishers who criticize influential people in other countries. Read more ...Source: Times Union
By Assemblyman Rory Lancman When we think about those fighting the war on terror, we of course first think of our soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are on the front lines, risking their lives to protect our country. We also think about our local cops and firefighters and first responders. They are defending our cities, unearthing terrorist plots and rushing to the scene of attacks to save and rescue lives. But every American has an obligation to do their part, in whatever way they can, to contribute to victory over Islamic fundamentalism. So while soldiers fight, cops protect, and even individual citizens who "see something" make sure to "say something," our journalists and authors discover and publish the truth about terrorists and their enablers the financiers, frontmen and terrorism-friendly regimes who provide the financial, logistical and political support and cover which enable the terrorists to exist, operate and strike. The 19 men who boarded airplanes on September 11, 2001 and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field were merely the tip of a long and elaborate sword aimed at the West, a worldwide network of moneymen, coordinators, facilitators, propagandists and apologists who compose the terrorist network which delivered those 19 men to American airports. Read more ...Source: Human EventsH/T: TFO
 |
|
|
Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved.
E-mail: info AT ReformIslam.org
|
|
|
Posts
