The big chill

Politics | Critics worry about the effects on free speech of recently expanded hate crime laws | Emily Belz

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WASHINGTON—Daniel Scot fled his native Pakistan in 1986 after receiving a blasphemy conviction for converting from Islam to Christianity. He settled in Australia, where he started an organization to educate Christians about Islam—only to be prosecuted again for his speech in 2002, this time by an Australian court.

The Australian province of Victoria had religious hate speech laws at the time, providing higher penalties for any conduct that may "incite" hatred of others on religious grounds. On that basis, the Islamic Council of Victoria brought charges against Scot for his lecture on Islam, and in 2004 a judge sided with the Islamic Council, ordering Scot to pay court costs and take out $70,000 in apology ads in newspapers. An appeals court eventually overturned the ruling in 2006, and the laws have since been revised to protect speech more fully.