The subject of hate speech has been to the fore here with Harry Miller's notable victory in his court case, after his supposedly transphobic remarks were logged by Humberside police as a "non-crime hate incident". The court ruled that this had a "chilling effect" on freedom of speech. As a triumphant Miller said, "Being offensive is not, cannot and should not be an offence".
Not so in Norway, though.
A man in Norway has been convicted and sentenced after insulting a trans-identified male over Facebook messenger.
The defendant, a 52-year-old man known only as MF, was charged with making insulting remarks to a male who identified as a woman. The exchange between the two took place over Facebook in March after they had both joined a discussion group about the City Council in Oslo.
The discussion grew heated, and culminated in MF sending the transgender male a series of comments regarding his gender identity. The original, Norwegian-language comments were published in the country's NRK media outlet.
MF was then reported to police by the trans-identified male who investigated and charged him under Section 185 of the Norwegian Penal Code. The case came as the first under the country's tightened hate speech law, amendments to which were approved in November of 2020 and officially implemented in December of 2020.
The amendments to Section 185 broadened the scope of 'hate speech' to include discriminatory or hateful statements directed towards transgender people.
During his trial, MF attempted to argue that his statements were made within the confines of free speech, but the court ultimately rejected his claim and sentenced him to prison for 21 days on condition. MF must also pay a fine of 15,000 kroner (approx. $1,700), as well and additional 3,000 kroner (approx. $340) in legal costs to the court.
Offensive? Yes. A crime? Never.
Mick Hartley 
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