Heretical Two Lose Appeal, But With Sentence Reduction
01/30/2010
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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

Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle
The men were jailed after a failed bid to seek asylum in the US

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 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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