Americans often assume freedom of speech exsits in every "democratic" country. Nothing could be further from the case, as even in so-called "free" countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, patriots can be put on trial for questioning mass immigration. Of course, even in America, there is an ever-decreasing amount of practical freedom of speech, but at least the government can't just arrest you for it.
Austria is a different story. A group of Identitarians in Austria was recently put on trial by the government for protesting mass immigration. Luckily, this story has a happy ending.
An Austrian court on Thursday found 17 members of Austria's far-right 'Identitarian Movement' (IBÖ) not guilty of charges of criminal association and hate speech.
Ten prominent members of the group and seven other "active sympathizers" had gone on trial in the city of Graz earlier this month on charges connected to several of the group's stunts in recent years.
Being found guilty of criminal association would have posed a serious threat to the IBÖ's ability to continue operating.
Two of the accused were, however, found guilty on lesser charges.
One was convicted of bodily harm and coercion over an incident in June 2016 in which members stormed the stage during a talk on refugee policy at Klagenfurt University and unrolled banners reading "Stop Immigration" and "Integration is a lie".
The other was found guilty of criminal damage in a separate IBÖ stunt. Both were fined.
[Far-right Austrian 'Identitarians' cleared of hate speech, AFP, July 26, 2018]
Austria is under the control of a nominally patriotic party. Still, it remains to be seen if the new government will actually start repealing these ridiculous laws. Though they were acquitted, the fact that these patriots were put on trial is a disgrace.
