ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with cases from the lower US federal courts where First Amendment defences were raised in terrorism prosecutions. It examines a few decisions from the European Court of Human Rights, which also involved conflicts between counter-terrorism policies, on the one hand, and the rights of association and speech protected under the European Convention on Human Rights on the other hand. The chapter summarizes a number of cases in the lower federal courts of the United States in which defendants raised non-frivolous First Amendment defences to counter-terrorism prosecutions. The subject of counter-terrorism prosecutions goes beyond targeting actual violence to targeting speech or groups that advocate or incite violence, targeting the act of joining with terrorist groups, or targeting the provision of ‘material support’ to such groups. In light of the steady spate of terrorist attacks on western targets, it is no surprise that counter-terrorism investigations and prosecutions have become a staple of modern law enforcement and intelligence.
