I've never been to a show trial before. Before lunch today I decided to drop in on the BC Human Rights Tribunal's hearings into Mark Steyn's book excerpt published in Maclean's magazine. The whole story is dreadfully complicated but basically the Canadian Islamic Congress has filed a Human Rights complaint against Mark Steyn for discussing demographics. It is an interesting case of how islamists are using the left-wing human rights apparatus for their own ends. Illiberal ends from very liberal means. If you want all the details have a look at what Andrew Coyne and Ezra Levant have been blogging.
Now, I don't have much experience in these things, but to be fair it wasn't much of a show trial. It was in a tiny courtroom in the basement of the Provincial Courthouse in Vancouver. Everyone, spectators, barristers and even the commissioners were typing non-stop on laptops, and the only clock was stuck at 8:01. It was presided over by three commissioners, all terribly bored and looking like the sort of people you would avoid at cocktail parties. It was very bizarre. This is how unelected bureaucrats erode our freedom. If Steyn is found at fault everyone in Canada will see some of their right to freedom of speech vanish.