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The thing to remember about freedom is that it is not given, it is taken

-Scott Adams

On Trial for Publishing the Danish Cartoons

Philippe Val, publisher of the French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo went on trial this week for publishing the infamous Danish Cartoons.

The charge is “publicly slandering a group of people because of their religion” (I have seen several variants of this, so I guess the translation is a bit open to interpretation.) The charge carries a possible six-month prison sentence and a fine of up to €26,800. Val was quoted as saying, "In a democracy, we're all shocked by what people say and do. We just have to learn to talk about it.”

The shame is that he even needed to say that. As Rammage so eloquently noted last year, this situation puts the American Left in quite a quandary. Which value is more important – freedom of the press, or respect for the cultural and religious beliefs of those in third world countries? Is it okay to print cartoons that criticize Islamists, or is it not?

But even if Americans answer that question correctly, it may not help Mr. Val in his trial over in Europe. After all, Europeans have criminal bans on swastikas, headscarves, and “hate speech” (potentially on line, as well). I have no faith that justice will prevail.

Of course, maybe I will be surprised. After all, Germany recently announced that it will not push for a EU-wide ban on swastikas and Holocaust denial. There may be some pockets of Europe where dialogue is preferred to prison when dealing with those with whom one disagrees. I sincerely hope Mr. Val is in one of those pockets.

While I am on the subject of Holocaust denial, let me share with you an amusing point by the Brussels Journal:

If Turkey joins the EU then we will have the comedy situation that denial of the Armenian Holocaust is a criminal offence in France, whilst mentioning it is a criminal offence in Turkey. The happy result of this could be that the entire population of France could be lifted and placed, Midnight Express like in Turkish prisons. Of course the entire population of Turkey could then find itself extradited to France and imprisoned there.

Posted by Wulf on February 7, 2007 at 09:50 PM

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Val is mistaken:

"In a democracy, we're all shocked by what people say and do. We just have to learn to talk about it."

A democracy cannot be relied upon to protect individual rights, even a right to freedom of speech. The only way to protect those rights is by limiting government, something the Euros have never even considered.

Posted by: Brad Warbiany at February 8, 2007 9:43 AM

It's funny how many people fail to realize that, as Catholic dogma only applies to Catholics, Islamic dogma only applies to Muslims.

Muslims can eat all the meat they want on Fridays during lent (as long as it is halal).

I can spend all day drawing graven images of Muhammad if I want to, but Muslims can't.

The moment Muslims begin observing my religion's dogma, I will begin observing theirs.

I don't go out of my way to offend people's religion, but damn do I hate double standards.

Posted by: Angry Lawyer at February 14, 2007 8:10 PM

The thing to remember about freedom is that it is not given, it is taken

-Scott Adams

On Trial for Publishing the Danish Cartoons

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