The chilling effect of 'lawfare' litigation (Islam)

Guardian UK ^ | February 11, 2010 | Alan Dershowitz and Elizabeth Samson

[La Lydia]

...The UK is notorious for its plaintiff-friendly libel laws which have been accused of being "contemptuous of free speech" and making a "mockery of British justice" and because they silence writers through expensive litigation.

But even as Britain attempts to prevent frivolous libel suits, the battle continues in the US. American courts are being utilised by radical Islamic groups to stifle writers through "lawfare" – the use of law as a weapon of warfare – a tactic that has had a "chilling effect" on free speech. In contrast to the British laws, American libel law favours defendants. However, plaintiffs in the US have learned to sue their critics for defamation, not with the intent to win the case, but with the hope of imposing an unaffordably high cost on criticism of their actions.

A recent case is most instructive: the American Civil Liberties Union sued the government-funded Tarek ibn Ziyad academy for allegedly promoting Islam – a violation of church-state separation. TIZA counter-sued for libel over the ACLU's statement that it is a "theocratic school". ...

...The fact is that this case is part of a pattern of defamation lawsuits brought to silence critics of controversial Islamic organisations due to increased scrutiny post-9/11. The strategy, which has included actions such as libel tourism in the UK, often works.

Though most defamation claims are deemed baseless by US courts, the enormous cost a lawsuit imposes and the smear of bigotry it achieves has stifled legitimate discussion of some suspect behaviour. Litigation – and the threat of litigation – has prevented concerned citizens from speaking freely and stopped the publication of important information...

[La Lydia]

Direct attack on free speech in the United States by the Muslims we have allowed to come here and live. They screwed up their own countries so bad they had to leave, and now they are here trying to screw up ours.

[happygrl]

The Saudis have deep pockets.