Avanoran Top Court has Ruled Hate Speech of an MP on Connectid Violated Hate Speech Laws

The Avanoran Constitutional Court has ruled in a 5-2 ruling that hate speech comments on the social media site Connectid from an Member of the Estate-General violated the nation's hate speech laws. The MP in question of the National Union Party has claimed the posts were protected under free speech.

The Avanoran Constitutional Court issued a 5-2 ruling in a civil rights case brought by National Union member Lucas Castex against the Avanoran government, in which he claimed that his fine of CA 490 was illegal as it was issued in violation of his right to free speech. The officials of the Department Clacourt, where Castex was elected, fined him in a vote of 9-0, finding that he had violated Article 810 of the Criminal Code, which claims:

"No person shall make remarks related to a person's religion, race, nationality, sexual orientation or practice, or social class in a manner which is meant to demean or otherwise damage the reputation of that person, or the class or group mentioned."

~ Article 810 of the Avanoran Criminal Code

This drama began in 1920, when National Union member Lucas Castex made a post on Connectid, a popular social media company, espousing his anger towards the "unmitigated influx of Korashan immigrants into this nation". His statements garnered backlash from immigrants within Avanor and in other Arganorhan nations, who claimed his comments were bigoted and racist, and an internet argument erupted in the comment section of the post.

Eldric people are a racial minority in Arganorh, who were displaced nearly 4000 years ago in the Arganorhan Migrations of the 2000's BCE. Their displacement wiped out most of their culture, however they would be able to become a racial minority in Arganorhan cities, eventually becoming a lower class of all societies until the Trivisian dictator Corveas Jurelius ordered the mass killings of Eldric people in the events known as the Horrors. During this event, nearly 4.1 million Eldric people in occupied regions were sent to camps where they were either killed while being used as slave labor for the war effort, or otherwise sentenced to death by the Trivisian government for "crimes against the state". The event has been called a genocide by all international groups, and Trivii's modern government has apologized for the actions of the Jurelius Regime.

An Eldric commenter on Connectid claimed that the comments about immigrants was racist, and Castex replied with the slogan "Arganorh for the Arganorhans", the slogan that the Jurelius Regime used to justify it's racial genocide policies. The reply promoted outrage, and the post had gone viral within the hour. Screenshots floated around the site, and were reposted to other sites such as Instapost, Bloggr, and Tableau.

The comments became a hot issue in the Estate-General, with the Centre-Left and Green parties calling the comments "unacceptable".

"We cannot tolerate this kind of hate" claimed Estienne Duret during his 1920 speech to the Estate-General. "I call on my party colleagues in the Centre-Left, and our coalition partners in the Greens to call out this hate, and an investigation be opened into the racial comments of some of our more... extreme members in this chamber."

Castex himself refused to retract his comments, claiming that he had merely exercised free speech, and that the 'politically correct' left wing and media were slandering him for protecting Avanoran values.

"In what Avanor do we live in where a member of the Estate (General) cannot express an opinion on social media?" asked Castex in 1920 "Our country cannot punish those who speak their mind, and I for one am appalled at the public backlash at defending national values."

Castex represented the Department Clacourt, and as such it fell upon their Criminal Investigative Office to order an investigation into the comments. When they finally did order an investigation a week later, Castex denounced the efforts of the CIO, and claimed that the investigation was a political witch hunt in order to silence a member of the opposition. During their work, the CIO refused to make any comments, and held repeated interviews with Castex over his statements, and eventually in Frostfall of 1920 broadened the scope of their inquiry to include other comments he had made that could have "violated Article 810 of the Criminal Code". Finally, in Highwinter of 1921 he was charged, and in Endwinter of 1921 he was convicted by the Judicial Tribunal of Clacourt in a vote of 9-0, and fined for his comments.

"The Judicial Tribunal of the Department of Clacourt finds that, while free speech does give citizens latitudes in which to express themselves, the idea that a citizen can so openly reference a genocide and claim that their praising of such an act constitutes free speech is not reconciled with the law as found in Article 810 of the Avanoran Criminal Code, and finds the Defendant in violation of this law."

~ The Judicial Tribunal of the Department Clacourt's Ruling

Castex claimed he was not surprised at the ruling, calling it "the logical outcome of a society which so openly panders to foreigners and enemies of the state." He claimed he would appeal the ruling, and took the case before the Regional Court of Remedy in Highsummer of 1921, where he argued that the court had convicted him of a law, which itself violated the Constitution of Avanor's provision that allowed free speech, therefore making his conviction void. The court of Judicial Remedy found that the law was legally sound, and rejected his appeal in a vote of 4-1.

He finally would make his appeal before the Constitutional Court. The court took the case up in Veiltide of 1922, and heard oral arguments on the case for over a month, listening to lawyer's claims on the hate speech law's legality under the constitution. Protests erupted in the capital of Calise, calling for the court to keep the hate speech protections in place in order to protect the most vulnerable in society.

"I cannot imagine what would happen if we legalized hate speech" said Gamet Hébras, whose father is Eldric and his mother is Avanoran. "We need to protect our people".

"The government's duty is to serve and protect it's citizens" claimed Anna Souchon, who was protesting what she perceived as the possible neglect of the government's duty to its people. "I hope the court agrees with me."

Though the court case is won for the side of racial equality, the struggle will continue. The National Union is already preparing to make this a central theme for their election campaign, and the Prime Minister Alis Barnier of the Greens, and Olivier Lecais of the Centre-Right have claimed that they will join the Centre-Left in their attempt to defeat racial injustice where they find it.

"We need to remember the important things here" said Prime Minister Barnier after the ruling was announced "Your rights end when they violate the rights of another. I understand that people want to be free to do what they want, say what they want, or act how they want, but it has never been true, nor will it ever be true, that one has complete freedom in every act they take. Hate speech has no place in our society."