Online journalist wins victory over 'legal jihad'
We read:
"The full Texas Second Court of Appeals yesterday rejected an attempt by a coalition of seven Islamic organizations to further their defamation lawsuit against an online writer and have him branded as less than a "real" journalist.
As WND reported, after Joe Kaufman wrote an article for the online FrontPage Magazine exposing terrorist connections in two American Muslim groups, he was sued by a swarm of Islamic organizations, none of which he had even mentioned in his article.
The lawsuit technique is called by some "legal jihad" or "Islamist lawfare," and the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Kaufman in the lawsuit, claims Muslim advocates are using the strategy to bully online journalists into silence.
"The lawsuit against Kaufman was funded by the Muslim Legal Fund for America. The head of that organization, Khalil Meek, admitted on a Muslim radio show that lawsuits were being filed against Kaufman and others to set an example," claims a Thomas More statement on the case. "Indeed, for the last several years, Muslim groups in the U.S. have engaged in the tactic of filing meritless lawsuits to silence any public discussion of Islamic terrorist threats."
And though a three-judge panel of the court had unanimously dismissed the case, the Islamic groups sought an "en banc" opinion, meaning a ruling from the entire court of seven justices. The Texas Second Court of Appeals, however, issued a "per curiam," or entire court, opinion yesterday, upholding the panel's decision to dismiss the lawsuit.
Source
4 comments:
I'm glad that he won but now he has to watch out for himself.
I bet their tactics would change if they had to pay all legal expenses and court costs plus a fine for filing a meritless lawsuit.
Ireland’s Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has inserted a new section into the Defamation Bill, stating: “A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €25,000.” ($35,000)
“Blasphemous matter” is defined as matter “that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion; and he or she intends, by the publication of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.”
Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the court may issue a warrant authorising the Garda Síochána (Irish State police) to enter, if necessary using reasonable force, a premises where the member of the force has reasonable grounds for believing there are copies of the blasphemous statements in order to seize them.
This law is half-way through the process of becoming reality.
What the Irish government really wants is insurance against a lose cannon ball publishing some prophet Mohammed cartoons and having Ireland’s 35,000 resident Muslims burn Dublin to the ground…………Although that might not be such a bad thing.
And not to protect the "good name" of the Catholic Church after all the scandal (closing the stable door ---)???
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