The defence for a former University of Saskatchewan lecturer accused of promoting hatred against Jews on the Internet is asking that the charges be stayed.

At a hearing Thursday in Regina, a lawyer for Terrence Tremaine argued that his client's Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time had been violated.

In 2008, Regina police charged Tremaine with willfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group. The allegations stem from web postings dating back to 2004.

A human rights tribunal ruled in 2007 that the postings had violated the federal Human Rights Act. Tremaine was fined $4,000 and ordered to stop posting such writings on the Internet.

The 63-year-old was fired from his job as a math lecturer at the U of S in 2004.