By Tribune Staff
In a landmark ruling the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has found two white supremacists liable for spreading hatred on the internet and for the first time held a Canadian internet web-hosting service responsible as well.
The ruling which was issued late last week was based on a 2002 complaint brought by Ottawa lawyer Richard Warman. The complaint was brought principally against two individuals residing in Ontario – Alexan Kulbashian and James Richardson – but also included a group called the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team – which the two belonged to – Kulbashian’s web-hosting service Affordable Space.com and web sites including www.tri-cityskins.com.
After a careful review of the evidence, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the two men to stop spreading what it determined to be hate messages and imposed penalties totalling $13,000 – including an award of $5,000 for messaging directed at Warman himself.
The decision details the hate-based messages that could be found at the now defunct websites. Messages included racist jokes and riddles about blacks, Jews, Muslims and other minorities. One web page entitled the ‘Jew Jokes’ belittled the suffering of Holocaust victims.
The tribunal found, “The tri-cityskins.com web site contains messages that are likely to expose persons who are non-Christian (namely of the Jewish and Muslim faiths) or non-Caucasian, to hatred and contempt on the basis of their race, colour, religion, or national/ethnic origin. Black persons and people of the Jewish faith are particularly laid open to ridicule, ill feelings or hostility, creating the right conditions for hatred or contempt against them to flourish.”
Other entries on the web sites forming the basis of the complaint are equally chilling. For example, in reviewing the evidence the tribunal’s Athanasios Hadjis refers to a posted newsletter which reproduced a Sept. 11, 2001 press release from B’nai Brith Canada, which condemned the 9/11attacks, as well as the subsequent dancing in the streets of the West Bank by Palestinians that had reportedly taken place.
Commenting on the press release, the web site sets out that “Obviously the Jews are trying to pass the buck and direct attention elsewhere. Well f**k them all. We know who is responsible and they WILL pay on behalf of our American Brothers. I urge all Canadians who care at all to take action against B’nai Brith and all other Jew organizations. Certain cocktails are very cheap. ‘DEATH TO ZOG!’ (ZOG refers to Zionist Occupied Government, a term known to be used Neo-Nazi/white supremacist supporters).”
This ruling in fact may go some way to connect the dots between anti-Zionist and antisemitic messaging. The tribunal rejected Kulbashian’s argument that remarks in posted newsletters, such as the theme of blaming the recent terrorist acts on the alleged Jewish control over what was termed the ‘Jew-nited States of America,’ constituted legitimate political discourse.
In its ruling, the tribunal noted that “if indeed the newsletter’s content was intended to express a supposed political opinion, the message could have been communicated without resorting to the extremist and denigrating language. The same can be said of the...editor’s criticism of Israel’s policies set out in Newsletter no. 12. The writer resorts to denigrating language against Jewish people, describing them as a ‘Zionist plague.’ This characterization, along with their depiction as ‘Betrayers of Christ,’ could likely incite Christians and others to feel hatred and contempt against Jews.”
One aspect of the ruling will have many taking note. Indeed, the ruling which holds an internet service provider responsible has already made internet editors take a closer second look. For example, an indymedia site warned ‘A Human Rights ruling says Internet servers are as liable as their clients for hate material. PS:Beware AZ IMC Editors, you could face the same charge because of Hate Speech by Nobody!!”
The tribunal found not only that Kulbashian and Richardson had contributed the articles constituting hate but went on to examine Kulbashian’s unique role as internet service provider. It noted that Kulbahsian could not benefit from an exemption under section 13(3) of the Act which specifies that “an owner or operator of a telecommunication undertaking through which hate messages are communicated, is not in breach of the Act by reason only that its facilities were used by other persons for the transmission of the material.”
The tribunal found that Kulbashian and his internet service provider company were responsible to the extent that he had “fostered and encouraged the use of his computer server for the communication of the hate messages by these groups.”
The tribunal ordered Kulbashian to pay Warman $5,000 for identifying Warman in a hate message. Kulbashian and Richardson also have to pay $1,000 in penalties. Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team and Affordable Space.com were each fined $3,000. The complaint against Tri-City Skins was not made out as Warman failed to show that the group existed outside the website.
A number of other complaints regarding alleged hate messaging are awaiting hearing before the tribunal, which has indicated once again its willingness to take on the fight against internet hate.
Index | Letters to the Editor | Main Page | Op Ed | Photos
Send Letters To The Editor:
editor@jewishtribune.ca
This site hosted by:
vex.net
