Free speech is both an ideal, and something which is guaranteed by law (in some countries anyways). As a matter of law, you're correct. If you aren't prosecuted for your speech, then the law of free speech wasn't violated. But extralegal actions can still be (and often are) contrary to the ideal of free speech and are criticized on that basis. It is common, but erroneous, to conflate these two senses of "free speech".