Lars Hedegaard

The president of the Danish Free Press Society has been acquitted on racism charges in something of a show trial.

Lars Hedegaard was accused over a statement which was made to a blogger: Girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins, or their fathers.

The court ruled that it does not constitute racism or hate speech explaining that although it found Hedegaard's comments to be insulting, the acquittal was handed down due to the fact that Hedegaard did not know that his controversial comments would be published.

Hedegaard had previously expressed regret for the statements, which were made during a 35-minute interview at a Christmas party with the author of the blog snaphanen.dk. However, he had maintained that what he said did not constitute racism under the Danish penal code.

Hedegaard released a statement following his acquittal.

My detractors – the foes of free speech and the enablers of an Islamic ascendancy in the West – will claim that I was acquitted on a technicality, the statement read. That is absolutely true. However, the public prosecutor has been privy to the circumstances surrounding my case for a year – and yet he chose to prosecute me. Obviously in the hope that he could secure a conviction given the Islamophile sentiment among our ruling classes. My acquittal is therefore a major victory for free speech.

A gunman has tried to shoot a Danish writer and prominent critic of Islam, but  Lars Hedegaard managed to fend off his assailant and was not injured in the attack.

Police said Lars Hedegaard, who heads two groups that claim press freedom is under threat from Islam, was the target of the shooting. A roughly 25-year-old presumably muslim gunman rang the doorbell at the writer's Copenhagen home and when he opened the door, the gunman fired a shot aimed at his head, but missed.

Hedegaard heads both the Free Press Society and the International Free Press Society. He was fined 5,000 kroner ( £ 570) in 2011 for over-generalising about honour killing in the muslim community.

Denmark's prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, condemned the attack. It is even worse if the attack is rooted in an attempt to prevent Lars Hedegaard using his freedom of expression, she told the Danish news agency Ritzau.

Update: I may be killed if I write this

16th February 2013. See  article from  spectator.co.uk

Lars Hedegaard, founder of Denmark's Free Press Society, speaks from a secret location after an attempt on his life