Free speech win for Islam critics
Craig Binnie
December 15, 2006 12:00am
Article from: Herald-Sun
A TRIBUNAL decision seen as gagging critics of Islam has been torn up in a decisive victory for two fundamentalist preachers facing jail.
The Islamic Council of Victoria had complained that comments by Catch the Fire Ministries pastors had exposed Muslims to hatred and ridicule.
Yesterday's unanimous decision by three Victorian Court of Appeal judges was widely applauded as a win for freedom of speech.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal had agreed with the Islamic Council that pastor Daniel Scot had engaged in conduct that incited hatred, contempt, revulsion or ridicule.
VCAT's Judge Michael Higgins said Mr Scot had caused 250 Christians to laugh at Islam during a 2002 seminar.
But yesterday the Court of Appeal set aside the orders and returned the case to the tribunal for decision by a different judge, without the rehearing of evidence.
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Topic: Free Speech 1 --- Islam 0 (Read 4311 times)