A 59-year-old Norwegian man was yesterday sentenced to prison
for posting racist and anti-semitic content on his US-based web
site, following a complaint by Oslo’s Anti-Racism Centre, according
to reports by the Associated Press and VNU Net.
Tore Tvedt posted the offending material to his web site, which
was hosted on a US-based server. In the US, such content is legal,
but a district court near Oslo rejected Tvedt’s argument that the
case fell outside Norway’s jurisdiction.
According to Associated Press, he received a sentence of 75 days
in prison, with 45 days suspended, and two years probation, having
been found guilty on five of six counts of breaching the country’s
anti-racism laws.
Since 1970 it has been a criminal offence in Norway to expose a
person to hatred or lack of respect on the grounds of their colour
of skin or ethnicity – although the law has rarely been enforced
and Tvedt is the first person to be convicted under the country’s
law in connection with internet activities.
