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Taking the Bait? Lessons from a Hate Speech Prosecution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2014

Heli Askola
Heli Askola*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Law Monash University Clayton Campus Australia
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Abstract

This article uses one case study to explore the use of criminal hate speech provisions against populist politicians. In a high-profile Finnish case, a populist politician was found guilty of hate speech after a four-year criminal process. Though the prosecution was ultimately successful, the various problems with the case helped boost the political popularity of the accused who was turned into a well-known public figure and member of Parliament. The case might thus be seen to warn against tackling populist politicians by means of criminal law. However, further analysis of the political context and a comparison with the Dutch prosecution against anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders complicate this conclusion. This article examines the consequences of hate speech prosecutions of politicians and sheds light on the conditions under which they can achieve (some of) their aims. The case also has lessons for other jurisdictions about when hate speech prosecutions of politicians are likely to be successful in terms of countering prejudice and disempowering those who spread it for electoral purposes.

Résumé

À l'aide d'une étude de cas, cet article explore l'utilisation des dispositions pénales sur les discours haineux contre les politiciens populistes. Dans une affaire finlandaise très médiatisée, un politicien populiste a été reconnu coupable d'incitation à la haine, suite à un procès criminel d’une durée de quatre ans. Bien que l'accusation ait été couronnée de succès, les divers problèmes liés à cette affaire ont contribué à accroître la popularité de l'accusé et ont fait en sorte de le transformer en un personnage public et un membre du Parlement bien connu. Cette affaire pourrait donc être perçue comme une mise en garde contre le danger d'utiliser le droit pénal contre les politiciens populistes. Cependant, une analyse approfondie du contexte politique ainsi qu’une comparaison avec la poursuite néerlandaise de Geert Wilders, un politicien anti-immigration, remettent en cause cette conclusion. Cet article examine les conséquences des poursuites pénales relatives aux messages haineux contre les politiciens et met en lumière les conditions selon lesquelles elles peuvent atteindre (quelques-uns de) leurs objectifs. Cette affaire offre également des leçons aux autres juridictions relativement aux circonstances selon lesquelles les poursuites de politiciens ont des chances de réussir, notamment lorsqu’il s’agit de contrer les préjugés et de retirer l’autorité à ceux qui en font la propagande à des fins électorales.

Keywords

hate speechfreedom of expressioncriminal justicepoliticsFinlanddiscours haineuxliberté d'expressionjustice pénalepolitiqueFinlande
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , April 2015 , pp. 51 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Law and Society Association / Association Canadienne Droit et Société 2014 

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References

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12 Ibid.

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17 Oikeuspoliittinen tutkimuslaitos, Rikollisuustilanne. Similar patterns of sparing prosecution can also be seen, e.g., in Canada, Australia, and many European countries.

18 In contrast, for instance, in Canada hate speech prosecutions under section 319(2) of the Criminal Code require the consent of the attorney general. See J. Walker, “Canadian Anti-hate Laws and Freedom of Expression,” Library of Parliament Background Paper, 2010-31-E (2013).

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22 Winter, of the far-right Freedom Party, was fined EUR 24,000 and given a three-month suspended prison term.

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24 Helsinki District Court, 8 September 2009.

25 Helsinki Court of Appeal, 29 October 2010. Both parties appealed.

26 KKO:2012:58, 8 June 2012 (hereinafter “Halla-aho”).

27 For a study on s.11:10, see M. Illman, Hets mot folkgrupp (Helsinki: Suomalainen Lakimiesyhdistys, 2005).

28 Neuvonen, Sananvapauden sääntely, 421.

29 Halla-aho, para 20.

30 Halla-aho, para 21.

31 Halla-aho, para 22.

32 Neuvonen, Sananvapauden sääntely. The mental element is broad compared to other jurisdictions where intention is required; about similar issues around the British criminalization of incitement to religious hatred in 2006, see K. Goodall, “Incitement to Religious Hatred: All Talk and No Substance?” Modern Law Review 70, no. 1 (2007): 89.

33 Halla-aho, para 38.

34 Halla-aho, para 39.

35 Evans, C., “Religion and Freedom of Expression,” in Religion and Human Rights, ed. Witte, J. Jr. and Green, M. C. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 193.Google Scholar

36 About “gratuitous offense” as a problematic basis for criminalization, see I. Cram, “The Danish Cartoons, Offensive Expression, and Democratic Legitimacy,” in Extreme Speech and Democracy, 311–30; Jones, “Religious Belief.”

37 J. Virolainen, “KKO 2012:58. Jussi Halla-ahon tuomio; sitä saa mitä tilaa,” Virolainen (blog), (8 June 2012), http://jyrkivirolainen.blogspot.com/2012/06/607.html. Accessed 22 July 2014.

38 Yleisradio, “Päivän kansanedustajana Jussi Halla-aho (PS),” Politiikkaradio (29 January 2013), http://yle.fi/puhe/ohjelmat/politiikkaradio/jussi_halla-aho_5319.html. Accessed 25 May 2014.

39 E.g., Cram, “Danish Cartoons”; Hare, “Extreme Speech”; Sottiaux, “‘Bad Tendencies.’”

40 Otto Preminger Institute v Austria (No. 13470/87), judgment 20 September, 1994.

41 I.A. v Turkey (No. 42571/98), judgment 13 September, 2005.

42 The ECtHR’s approach has sometimes come close to recognizing a right to have one’s religion exempted from criticism: J. Temperman, “Blasphemy, Defamation of Religions, and Human Rights Law,” Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 26, no. 4 (2008): 517. Though this is problematic (e.g., I. Leigh, “Damned if They Do, Damned if They Don’t: The European Court of Human Rights and the Protection of Religion from Attack,” Res Publica 17, no. 1 (2011): 55), cases like Wingrove v UK (No. 17419/90, judgment 25 November, 1996) affirm states’ wide discretion.

43 Féret v Belgium (No. 15615/07), judgment 16 July, 2009.

44 The ECtHR, accepted Féret (sentenced to 250 hours of community service and barred from running for political office for 10 years) had made comments clearly liable to “arouse feelings of distrust, rejection or even hatred towards foreigners, especially among less knowledgeable members of the public.” Similarly, in the admissibility decision Le Pen v France (no. 18788/09, decision 20 April, 2010) the ECtHR said that while interferences with political speech should be strictly interpreted, presenting the Muslim community as a whole in a disturbing light was likely to give rise to feelings of hostility.

45 Pratt, J., “Scandinavian Exceptionalism in an Era of Penal Excess: Part II: Does Scandinavian Exceptionalism Have a Future?” British Journal of Criminology 48, no. 3 (2008): 285.Google Scholar

46 Halla-aho was initially (from 2007) an Independent on the TF list and joined the party in 2010.

47 S. Keskinen, “Pelkkiä ongelmia? Maahanmuutto poliittisen keskustelun kohteena,” in En ole rasisti, 33–46; S. Keskinen, “Troublesome Differences – Dealing with Gendered Violence, Ethnicity, and ‘Race’ in the Finnish Welfare State,” Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention 12, no. 2 (2011): 153; Horsti and Nikunen, “The Ethics of Hospitality.”

48 Arter, D., “Taking the Gilt off the Conservatives’ Gingerbread: The April 2011 Finnish General Election,” West European Politics 34, no. 6 (2011): 1284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

49 He also became chairman of Parliament’s Administrative Affairs Committee (contentious, as the committee deals with immigration affairs and Halla-aho’s views were well-known by then).

50 After the Supreme Court’s judgment, Halla-aho did eventually resign from the position of chairman.

51 Keck, “Beyond Backlash,” 152. See also Rosenberg, The Hollow Hope.

52 Bleich, The Freedom to Be Racist, 28.

53 Ibid.

54 Bleich, E., “The Rise of Hate Speech and Hate Crime Laws in Liberal Democracies,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 37, no. 6 (2011): 929.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

55 See J. van Spanje and T. Weber, “Political Trials and Their Effects on Public Opinion: A Survey Experiment,” Paper prepared for the 2010 APSA Annual Meetings, Washington, DC, 2010; J. van Spanje and C. de Vreese, “The Good, the Bad and the Voter: The Impact of Hate Speech Prosecution of a Politician on Electoral Support for his Party,” Party Politics (published electronically February 12, 2013), DOI: 10.1177/1354068812472553.

56 M. Maasilta, “Johdanto,” in Maahanmuutto, media ja eduskuntavaalit, ed. M. Maasilta (Tampere: Tampere University Press, 2012), 7–22.

57 J. Halla-aho, Kirjoituksia uppoavasta lännestä (Helsinki: Jussi Halla-aho, 2009).

58 V. Hytönen (ed.), Mitä Jussi Halla-aho tarkoittaa? (Turku: Savukeidas, 2010); J. Förbom, Hallan vaara. Merkintöjä maahanmuuton puhetavoista (Helsinki: Into Kustannus, 2010); M. Mattlar, “Retoriikkaa ja rikostutkintoja – maahanmuuttokriitikko Jussi Halla-aho marginalisoitui häiriköksi,” in Journalismikritiikin vuosikirja 2010, ed. K. Kyrölä (Tampere: Journalismin tutkimusyksikkö, Tampereen yliopisto, 2010), 53–60; S. Keskinen, “Maahanmuuttokeskustelu ei ole yhden miehen varassa,” in Journalismikritiikin vuosikirja 2010, 61–4.

59 Rahkonen, J., “Satumaan tango soi taas: Mikä selittää perussuomalaisten rakettimaista nousua?” Yhteiskuntapolitiikka, 75, no. 5 (2010): 547Google Scholar; Maasilta, “Johdanto.”

60 M. Maasilta, “Perinteinen ja sosiaalinen media ruokkivat toinen toisiaan,” in Maahanmuutto, media ja eduskuntavaalit, 23–51; Horsti and Nikunen, “The Ethics of Hospitality.”

61 O. Lintula, M. Tanni, and H. Luoto, “Halla-ahon tuomiosta,” Sananvapauden puolesta (blog) (30 October 2010), http://www.sananvapaudenpuolesta.fi/index.php?sivu=julk1010. Accessed 25 May 2014.

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63 D. Albertazzi and D. McDonnell, “Introduction: The Sceptre and the Spectre,” in Twenty-First Century Populism, ed. D. Albertazzi and D. McDonnell (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), 4.

64 See J. Halla-aho, “Tiedote 11.6.2012,” (11 June 2012), http://yle.fi/tvuutiset/uutiset/upics/liitetiedostot/halla _aho_tiedote_110612.pdf. Accessed 25 May 2014.

65 See e.g. Bleich, The Freedom to Be Racist. This widespread doubt is also expressed by Justice McLachlin’s (dissenting) opinion in the Canadian case R v Keegstra (3 SCR 697 (1990)): “Not only does the criminal process attract extensive media coverage and confer on the accused publicity for his dubious causes, it may even bring him sympathy.”

66 About political trials, motivated by the desire to punish political opposition, considered a betrayal of liberal principles, see E. A. Posner, “Political Trials in Domestic and International Law,” Duke Law Journal 55, no. 1 (2005): 75.

67 Electronic Frontier Finland, “Lain tulee suojata sananvapautta paremmin,” (15 June 2012), http://www.effi.org/uutiset/120615-effi-lain-tulee-suojata.html. Accessed 22 July 2014.

68 Lintula, Tanni, and Luoto, “Halla-ahon tuomiosta.”

69 Even if religious sentiments still need protection, s.17:10 is no longer necessary, as s.11:10 also covers religiously motivated hatred. Neuvonen, Sananvapauden sääntely, 421–22.

70 Regarding England and Wales, see Sandberg, R. and Doe, N., “The Strange Death of Blasphemy,” Modern Law Review 71, no. 6 (2008): 971CrossRefGoogle Scholar; see also Temperman, “Blasphemy, Defamation.”

71 See also Heinze, “Viewpoint Absolutism,” 559.

72 S. Hankamäki, “Viimeinen voitelu,” J. Sakari Hankamäki (blog) (19 August 2009), http://jukkahankamaki.blogspot.com/2009/08/viimeinen-voitelu.html; T. Vihavainen,“Maallinen ja taivaallinen totuus,” Vihavainen (blog) (13 June 2012), http://timo-vihavainen.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/maallinen-ja-taivaallinen-totuus.html. Accessed 22 July 2014.

73 Halla-aho, “Scripta” (19 May 2005).

74 Halla-aho, “Scripta” (22 September 2005).

75 See Illman, Hets mot folkgrupp.

76 Electronic Frontier Finland, “Lain tulee suojata.”

77 Hankamäki, “Viimeinen voitelu”; Vihavainen,“Maallinen ja taivaallinen.”

78 Freedom House, Freedom of the Press: 2013 Freedom of the Press Data, (2013), http://www.freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-press; Reporters Without Borders, Press Freedom Index 2011-2012 (25 January 2012), http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2011-2012,1043.html. Accessed 22 July 2014.

79 P. Tiilikka, Sananvapaus, yksilönsuoja ja lähdesuoja Ruotsissa, Norjassa ja Alankomaissa sekä Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuimen ratkaisukäytännössä (Helsinki: Oikeusministeriö, 2010); R. Neuvonen, “Median, tuomioistuinten vai poliitikkojen sananvapaus?” in Journalismikritiikin vuosikirja 2010, 33–41.

80 See ECtHR judgments Flinkkilä and others v. Finland, Soila v. Finland, Iltalehti and Karhuvaara v. Finland, Tuomela and others v. Finland and Jokitaipale and others v. Finland, all 6 April 2010.

81 T. Aarni, “Halla-aho, sananvapaus ja Suomen oikeuslaitos,” Uusi Suomi (8 June 2012), http://tuomasaarni.puheenvuoro.uusisuomi.fi/108077-halla-aho-sananvapaus-ja-suomen-oikeuslaitos. Accessed 22 July 2014.

82 Neuvonen, “Median, tuomioistuinten,” 33.

83 T. Pulkkinen, “Snellmanin perintö suomalaisessa sananvapaudessa,” in Sananvapaus, ed. K. Nordenstreng, (Helsinki: WSOY, 1996), 194–209.

84 Aarni, “Halla-aho, sananvapaus.”

85 Rosenberg, The Hollow Hope.

86 G. Mazzoleni, “Populism and the Media,” in Twenty-First Century Populism, 50.

87 Maasilta, “Perinteinen ja sosiaalinen,” 31–33.

88 For instance, see J. Keronen, “Jussi Halla-ahon tuomioon johtanut kirjoitus,” Helvetin Puutarha (blog) (8 June 2012), http://keronen.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/jussi-halla-ahon-tuomioon-johtanut.html. Accessed 22 July 2014.

89 Heinze, “Viewpoint Absolutism,” 569, identifies “out-citizening” as one of the most serious objections to prosecutions of mere opinions.

90 Van Spanje and Weber, “Political Trials,” 18–19.

91 D. Arter, “The Breakthrough of Another West European Populist Radical Right Party? The Case of the True Finns,” Government and Opposition 45, no. 4 (2010): 484.

92 Such concerns were identified by E. Kestilä, “Is There Demand for Radical Right Populism in the Finnish Electorate?” Scandinavian Political Studies 29, no. 3 (2006): 169.

93 Van Spanje and de Vreese, “The Good, the Bad.”

94 Le Pen has been succeeded by his daughter Marine Le Pen as FN leader. See N. Mayer, “From Jean-Marie to Marine Le Pen: Electoral Change on the Far Right,” Parliamentary Affairs 66, no. 1 (2013): 160.

95 About France, see Fysh, P. and Wolfreys, J., “Le Pen, the National Front, and the Extreme Right in France,” Parliamentary Affairs 45, no. 3 (1992): 309CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and Mayer, “From Jean-Marie”; about the UK see N. Copsey, “Changing Course or Changing Clothes? Reflections on the Ideological Evolution of the British National Party, 1999–2006,” Patterns of Prejudice 41, no. 1 (2007): 61; about the Netherlands, S. van Kessel, “Explaining the Electoral Performance of Populist Parties: The Netherlands as a Case Study,” Perspectives on European Politics and Society 12, no. 1 (2011): 68.

96 Bleich, The Freedom to Be Racist, 34.

97 Copsey, “Changing Course,” 72.

98 About France’s hate speech statistics, Commission nationale consultative des droits de l’homme, La lutte contre le racisme, l’antisémitisme et la xénophobie. Année 2012 (Paris: CNCDH, 2013). See also Home Office, Office for National Statistics and Ministry of Justice, An Overview of Hate Crime in England and Wales (London: Home Office, 2013).

99 Vasta, E., “From Ethnic Minorities to Ethnic Majority Policy: Multiculturalism and the Shift to Assimilationism in the Netherlands,” Ethnic and Racial Studies 30, no. 5 (2007): 713CrossRefGoogle Scholar; H. Entzinger, “Immigration: Open Borders, Closing Minds,” in Discovering the Dutch: On Culture and Society of the Netherlands, ed. E. Besamusca and J. Verheul (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2010), 231–41.

100 Gates of Vienna, “The Finnish Geert Wilders,” (18 September, 2009), http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com /2009/09/finnish-geert-wilders.html. Accessed 22 July 2014.

101 Van Spanje and de Vreese, “The Good, the Bad.”

102 The PVV initially supported the new government (which needed its backing). About the election, J. J. M. van Holsteyn, “The Dutch Parliamentary Election of 2010,” West European Politics 34, no. 2 (2011): 412.

103 Suomen maaseudun puolue, SMP. See further Arter, D., “Analysing ‘Successor Parties’: The Case of the True Finns,” West European Politics 35, no. 4 (2012): 803.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

104 About Soini’s crucial role, see E. Kestilä-Kekkonen and P. Söderlund, “Party, Leader, or Candidate? Dissecting the Right-Wing Populist Vote in Finland,” European Political Science Review (published electronically 23 January 2014), DOI: 10.1017/S1755773913000283.

105 Arter, “Taking the Gilt,” 1291.

106 Keskinen, “Pelkkiä ongelmia?”

107 van Kessel, “Explaining the Electoral Performance.”

108 Arter, “Taking the Gilt.” About the 2011 election, V. Pernaa, “Vaalikamppailu mediassa,” in Muutosvaalit 2011, ed. S. Borg (Helsinki: Oikeusministeriö, 2012), 29–42; S. Borg, “Perussuomalaiset,” in Muutosvaalit 2011, 191–210.

109 Borg, “Perussuomalaiset”; Rahkonen, “Satumaan tango.”

110 Arter, “Taking the Gilt.”

111 H. Paloheimo, “Populismi puoluejärjestelmän vedenjakajana,” in Muutosvaalit 2011, 324–46; Arter, “Analysing ‘Successor Parties’”; Borg, “Perussuomalaiset.” See also Perussuomalaiset, Suomalaiselle sopivin. Perussuomalaiset r.p:n eduskuntavaaliohjelma 2011 (25 February 2011).

112 E. Ivarsflaten, “Reputational Shields: Why Most Anti-Immigrant Parties Failed in Western Europe, 1980–2005,” Nuffield College Working Papers in Politics, 2006-W10 (2006); M. J. Goodwin, “Forever a False Dawn? Explaining the Electoral Collapse of the British National Party (BNP),” Parliamentary Affairs (published electronically 1 March 2013), DOI: 10.1093/pa/gss062.

113 Ivarsflaten, “Reputational Shields.”

114 H. Kaarto, “Halla-aho pitää ovea auki puheenjohtajakisaan,” Helsingin Sanomat (18 November 2012), http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/Halla-aho+pit%C3%A4%C3%A4+ovea+auki+puheenjohtajakisaan /a1305619046007. Accessed 22 July 2014.

115 Borg, “Perussuomalaiset.”

116 Van Spanje and de Vreese, “The Good, the Bad,” 12. About Wilders’ approach to sustaining electoral success, see S. L. de Lange and D. Art, “Fortuyn versus Wilders: An Agency-Based Approach to Radical Right Party Building,” West European Politics 34, no. 6 (2011): 1229.

117 More than 20 Dutch politicians have been prosecuted in recent decades. About the Janmaat case, see van Spanje and Weber, “Political Trials.”

118 Verdict of the Amsterdam district court as regards the Wilders trial, LJN: BQ9001, Wilders, verdict 23 June, 2011.

119 See R. A. Kahn, “The Acquittal of Geert Wilders and Dutch Political Culture,” University of St. Thomas Legal Studies Research Paper, No. 11–31 (2011), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1956192. Accessed 22 July 2014.

120 His resignation from the position of chairman of Parliament’s Administrative Affairs Committee was driven by political and media pressure. Yleisradio, “Eduskuntaryhmät haluavat Halla-ahon pois hallintovaliokunnasta,” Yle Uutiset (13 June 2012), http://yle.fi/uutiset/eduskuntaryhmat_haluavat_halla-ahon_pois_hallintovaliokunnasta/6179609. Accessed 22 July 2014.

121 Yleisradio, “Päivän kansanedustajana.”

122 Arter, “Breakthrough.” Wilders’ PVV experienced this in the 2012 Dutch parliamentary elections.

123 A. Rastas, “Rasismin kiistäminen suomalaisessa maahanmuuttokeskustelussa,” in En ole rasisti, 47–64; Keskinen, “Pelkkiä ongelmia?”; Pernaa, “Vaalikamppailu”; Borg, “Perussuomalaiset.”

124 van Spanje, J., “Contagious Parties: Anti-Immigration Parties and Their Impact on Other Parties’ Immigration Stances in Contemporary Western Europe,” Party Politics 16, no. 5 (2010): 563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

125 M. Maasilta, “Epilogi,” in Maahanmuutto, media ja eduskuntavaalit, 159–62.

126 Ibid.

127 While the TF (predictably) supports changing hate speech laws (Perussuomalaiset, Suomalaiselle sopivin), other parties have resisted this.

128 For commentary, Maasilta, “Perinteinen ja sosiaalinen.”

129 About politicians’ inflammatory language since 1990, M. Salo, Suomi suomalaisille: Argumentit maahanmuuttoa vastaan Suomessa vuosina, 1990-2003 (Turku: Siirtolaisuusinstituutti, 2005).

130 See also Keck, “Beyond Backlash,” 182.