An interview of Lars Hedegaard by New English Review.
The Attempted Assassination of Free Speech Advocate Lars Hedegaard
Lars Hedegaard of Dispatch International, Danish and International Free Press Societies
On February 5, 2013 Lars Hedegaard went to his door in Copenhagen to face a person he thought was a mailman. After handing Hedegaard a package, the “mailman” immediately pulled out a gun and fired a shot barely missing Hedegaard’s head. When the assassin dropped the weapon, a scuffle ensued and the assassin retrieved the gun but failed to fire it a second time promptly fleeing the scene. The perpetrator of this attempted assassination has yet to be apprehended by Danish police. Such are the dangers of being the founder of both the Danish and International Free Press Societies and prosecuted by Danish courts for something protected in the First Amendment of the US Constitution – the right to criticize a religion, Islam.
Hedegaard and co-editor Ingrid Carlqvist founded and publish Dispatch International, a weekly newspaper devoted to many problems and issues – one of them being Islam and immigration. When we interviewed Hedegaard (included in our collection The West Speaks) we noted Hedegaard’s comment upon his Kafkaesque conviction for hate speech on May 3, 2011 by the Eastern Superior Court in Copenhagen under Denmark’s infamous Article 266b. A conviction for simply calling attention to the parlous condition of Muslim women for which he was branded a ‘racist’. Hedegaard indicated that he would pursue an appeal before the Supreme Court and if denied bring the matter to the European Court of Human Rights. He said:
This is a fight for liberty against tyranny. It will be long and hard but losing is no option.
Hedegaard follows the dictum of fellow Danish free speech fighter and close friend, political cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Westergaard was attacked by a Somali Muslim who barged into his home equipped with an ax to do bodily harm and worse. Hedegaard, Westergaard and Swedish artist Lars Vilks have all been attacked by Jihadis intent on silencing them for alleged Blasphemy, criticizing Islam. So far, these assassins have failed. However, some in the mainstream media (MSM) believe the three Scandinavian ‘victims’ have brought it upon themselves. Westergaard, at the conclusion of our interview clearly differs with this bizarre view. He said:
If you want to do something about freedom of speech then the only choice is USE IT, exercise it.
When we told Hedegaard by email that he was channeling the mythic figure of Danish warrior for King Charlemagne, Holger Dansk, the name taken by the WWII Danish Resistance, he quipped: “I never met Holger but I understand that he was quite a guy.”
Hans Christian Andersen wrote a fairytale about Holger Danske asleep in the Castle of Kronborg, prepared to wake up for action when Denmark is threatened. Hedegaard is not asleep. He relentlessly warns his fellow Danes and all concerned Westerners of the threats to their human and civil rights from a totalitarianism with a thin veneer of religious practices.
Against this background we interviewed Hedegaard who is under 24/7 Danish police protection.
What is the mission of Dispatch International, the weekly newspaper that you edit and publish?
