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Lars Hedegaard, President of the International Free Press Society, has been convicted of "[issuing] a pronouncement or other communication by which a group of persons are threatened, insulted or denigrated due to their race, skin colour, national or ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation."(The quote is from Diana West's website, who has a fuller review of the conviction.)
I met Mr. Hedegaard in 2009 during an International Free Press Society sponsored conference in New York on freedom of speech and how Muslims are transforming Western societies. The conference was held specifically to introduce the Danish Kurt Westergaard, illustrator of the (in)famous Danish cartoons which were a satire on Mohammed and Muslims. Kurt Westergaard, Hedegaard's compatriot, was facing Muslims' ire for his illustrations (cartoons) which they felt demeaned their religion and their prophet. Through his experiences, the hardest of which is his life in hiding from death threats by Muslims (similar to what Geert Wilders is facing in the Netherlands), issues like freedom of speech started to come to the fore of political and public discussions.
Hedegaard is the last person to denigrate people, although he has strong and substantiated views on Muslims, immigration-run-amok in Denmark, and Western values and institutions that are being dismantled or changed (such as freedom of speech) because of immigration, and specifically Muslim immigration. His conviction is more symbolic than anything else. He was fined $1,000 and he plans to appeal.
This (symbolic) conviction is a blessing in disguise. It will put Hedegaard in the news for a while because of his appeals process, and he will be able to reach more people with his views on how Muslims, and Muslim immigration, are transforming Denmark. The more information people get, and the more outrageous cases like Hedegaard's, Westergaard's and Wilders's become public, the truth about Islam and Muslims will be revealed.
Here's more from the International Free Press Society website:
Lars Hedegaard was today [May 3. 2011] found guilty of hate speech under Article 266b of the Danish penal code...
§ 266b of the Danish penal code:
“Whoever publicly or with the intent of public dissemination issues a pronouncement or other communication by which a group of persons are threatened, insulted or denigrated due to their race, skin colour, national or ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation is liable to a fine or incarceration for up to two years.”