The issue of libel tourism has quite prominent lately. For those not following the issue, several individuals accused of financially supporting terrorist groups have been suing researchers, often in Britain where libel laws are more in favor of the plaintiff. Khalid bin Mahfouz's suits against over 30 researchers, including our own Rachel Ehrenfeld is a case in point.
However, the tide may be turning against bin Mahfouz and his ilk. A number of unfavorable articles have been written in recent days about his suits, and some similar cases. I emphasize that this is relevant to the subject of terror finance because the suits seem to only be about terror finance; rather than opening their books, financial supporters of terrorism try to win on legal technicalities about what is "defamation." As you will see, this strategy sometimes backfires when it draws attention to their activities.
A sample of the articles follows:
Home Court Adavantage by Michael Broyde and Deborah Lipstatdt:
Until this case came along, American authors and publishers thought that unless their books were actually published in Britain, they would not be subject to its rather draconian libel laws, which put the burden of proof on the defendant rather than the plaintiff as American laws do, and greatly restrict what information writers can present as evidence in their defense. Now it appears that wealthy and powerful people who object to a book can simply find a country with sympathetic laws, have a book shipped there and sue.
Alms for Jihad by Robert L. Houbeck, Jr.:
Librarians have been taking steps to protect this suddenly rare book. Charles Hamaker, Associate University Librarian at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, reports that “my library, like many academic libraries, has placed Alms for Jihad in a reserve collection to keep it available for current and future users.” The University of Michigan recalled its two circulating copies and put both on reserve—housed, as an added precaution, in separate locations. A search of their online catalogs reveals that Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, as well as the University of California-San Diego, have also placed their copies on reserve. Ohio State and Cornell put Alms for Jihad in non-circulating rare book collections. Prudent moves: the $30 book now has a market value of more than $500.
Chilling Effect by Matthew Levitt:
Scholars beware: A wave of libel lawsuits threatens to stifle open and honest discussion of issues related to the financing of terrorism. Instead of competing on the battlefield of ideas, where facts speak louder than rhetoric, several individuals and organizations have sued scholars researching the financing of terrorist groups.
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