An Australian court says a newspaper columnist violated an anti-discrimination law when he suggested that fair-skinned Aborigines identified themselves as such for personal gain.

The judge ruled Wednesday that fair-skinned Aborigines were likely “to have been offended, insulted, humiliated or intimidated” by two articles by Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt in 2009. Justice Mordy Bromberg said the articles contained “distortions of the truth and inflammatory and provocative language.”

Bolt said outside the courtroom that the decision marked “a terrible day for free speech” in Australia.

But Aboriginal activist Pat Eatock, one of nine plaintiffs, said the suit against was not about free speech, but a lack of professional journalism.

Aborigines make up just over two percent of Australia's 23 million people, but they suffer higher rates of unemployment and poverty, imprisonment and substance abuse than other Australians.