SPRINGFIELD - "Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are two protections guaranteed to us by way of the United States Constitution that we should strive to uphold," said State Senator Ira I. Silverstein (D – Chicago). Silverstein’s remarks relate to the introduction of Senate Bill 2722 which will commonly be referred to as the "Libel Terrorism Protection Act." Silverstein said that Senate Bill 2722 would primarily work to protect the rights of journalists, publishers, and other members of the press but could be applicable to any Illinois resident.
Senate Bill 2722 ensures that Illinois courts have personal jurisdiction over foreign defamation judgments provided that the publication at issue was published in Illinois. "Essentially, Illinois courts would be prohibited from enforcing any defamation judgment made on a person in a country whose free speech and free press protections were not as strong as those provided by the U.S. and state Constitutions," said Silverstein. "I saw a need for such legislation after reading and researching a story regarding an American author who was prosecuted in a libel lawsuit that took place in Britain."
Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, an Israeli-American scholar and internationally-recognized counterterrorism expert, recently wrote a book titled, "Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop It," in which she identified Khalid bin Mahfouz as a leading terrorism financer. Mahfouz then chose to sue Ehrenfeld for libel in England which essentially mandates that the defendants must shoulder the burden of proof – a process that is not reflective of United States’ court proceedings. Since 23 copies of her book had been bought over the Internet in England, Britain declared that they had jurisdiction over the case. Britain has no equivalent freedoms of speech and press and thus is a popular place for these types of libel cases. The bill, which was patterned after legislation recently passed through the New York Legislature, passed the Senate Judiciary-Civil Law committee today unanimously before being reported to the Senate floor.
"Assemblyman Rory Lancman took the lead on this deserving issue in New York earlier this year and it is something that needs to be considered nationwide," said Silverstein. "Allowing journalists to accurately report terrorism issues is a small component of the many freedoms we are all afforded by the First Amendment. This law is needed to protect our given rights as American citizens going forward."
Illinois enacted the bill in August 2008.
