Heretical Two Lose Appeal, But With Sentence Reduction

By James Fulford

01/30/2010

The "Heretical Two," two UK men being persecuted under British "anti-racism" law for spreading hate on the internet, have lost an appeal:

Internet racism pair lose appeal

Two men have lost their appeals against the UK’s first conviction for inciting racial hatred via a foreign website.

Simon Sheppard, 51, was sentenced to four years and 10 months, and Stephen Whittle, 42, to two years and four months at Leeds Crown Court in July.

However, the Court of Appeal has reduced Sheppard’s sentence by one year and Whittle’s jail term by six months.

Sheppard, from Selby, North Yorks, and Whittle, of Preston, Lancs, controlled US websites featuring racist material.

During their first trial in 2008, they skipped bail and fled to California, where they sought asylum claiming they were being persecuted for their right-wing views, but were deported.

The concept that US immigration appeals are "not over until the alien wins" apparently doesn’t apply to white victims of anti-racism laws.

See earlier coverage by Nicholas Stix below.

• The Heretical 2: Asylum Seekers the Refugee Industry Won’t be Fighting For
• The Heretical 2: Requests for Asylum and Letters from Santa Ana Jail
• What The Heretical 2 Case Says About The Federal “Hate Crimes” Bill

The BBC says that

"Sheppard’s counsel Adrian Davies told the Appeal Court the sites were "entirely lawful" in the US.

He said that there was no evidence that anyone in England and Wales — except for the police officer in the case — had ever seen any of them. "

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