Fass
29-11-2005, 09:48
http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=147&a=495007&previousRenderType=6
Free translation:
The Supreme Court acquits pentecostal pastor Åke Green from charges of agitation against population group in a sermon on homosexuality
- I feel relieved. I tried to imagine what a conviction would mean, so it feels good that the supreme court has ruled that one may continue to have the freedom of expressing one's conviction, says Åke Green when contacted by DN.se over the phone in Borgholm pentecostal church.
He had around 9 o'clock not yet had time to speak to his attorney, Percy Bratt, but had already received many reactions to the ruling from different sources.
In its ruling the Supreme Court writes that his statements, while far-reaching, were made in a sermon before his own congregation and on a theme found in the Bible.
[...]
It was in a sermon in Borgholm pentecostal church that Green spoke of homosexuals and said, among other things, that "sexual abnormalities are a deep, cancerous tumour on the societal body" and that "sexually twisted people will even rape animals."
Approximately 50 people partook of the sermon and Green managed to get extracts from it published in a newspaper.
He was tried for agitation against a population group and was sentenced on June 29 2004 to one month in prison by Kalmar tingsrätt (lower court). The ruling was appealed to Göta hovrätt (regional appellate court) in Jönköping, where it was overturned February 11 this year. That Court found that while his statements were remarkable, his right to freely interpret the Bible bore more weight.
The Supreme Court states in its ruling that Green's statements clearly breach the boundary for an objective and reliable debate on the topic of homosexuality. Åke Green purposefully disseminated these statements before his congregation in a sermon while being fully aware that they would be found offensive and insulting.
However, the Court finds that a conviction would not stand scrutiny before the European Court of Human Rights, which has acquitted in several similar cases previously, says chief justice Johan Munch to TT.
Upon a gathered review of the statements, it is apparent that they do not fall in the realm of "hate speech," writes the Supreme Court.
This is true for even the most far-reaching of the statements, including the one about cancerous tumours, because it in conjunction with the rest of the sermon cannot be seen as having encouraged or justified hatred against homosexuals, writes the Court.
Finally, I say, finally! Now hopefully we can go back to what should have been done about this idiot from the beginning: ignoring him like we do with the rest of the religious and homophobic whackos. The Supreme Court's ruling, I find, is correct, but raises the question of the point of having an agitation against population group law in the first place, as it can't even be used to get this moron convicted (the Court finds that his statements are punishable by Swedish law, but that the European Convention on Human Rights protects them!). I would hope this would be a step towards a repeal, but knowing the Riksdag and the government, I won't be holding my breath.
Free translation:
The Supreme Court acquits pentecostal pastor Åke Green from charges of agitation against population group in a sermon on homosexuality
- I feel relieved. I tried to imagine what a conviction would mean, so it feels good that the supreme court has ruled that one may continue to have the freedom of expressing one's conviction, says Åke Green when contacted by DN.se over the phone in Borgholm pentecostal church.
He had around 9 o'clock not yet had time to speak to his attorney, Percy Bratt, but had already received many reactions to the ruling from different sources.
In its ruling the Supreme Court writes that his statements, while far-reaching, were made in a sermon before his own congregation and on a theme found in the Bible.
[...]
It was in a sermon in Borgholm pentecostal church that Green spoke of homosexuals and said, among other things, that "sexual abnormalities are a deep, cancerous tumour on the societal body" and that "sexually twisted people will even rape animals."
Approximately 50 people partook of the sermon and Green managed to get extracts from it published in a newspaper.
He was tried for agitation against a population group and was sentenced on June 29 2004 to one month in prison by Kalmar tingsrätt (lower court). The ruling was appealed to Göta hovrätt (regional appellate court) in Jönköping, where it was overturned February 11 this year. That Court found that while his statements were remarkable, his right to freely interpret the Bible bore more weight.
The Supreme Court states in its ruling that Green's statements clearly breach the boundary for an objective and reliable debate on the topic of homosexuality. Åke Green purposefully disseminated these statements before his congregation in a sermon while being fully aware that they would be found offensive and insulting.
However, the Court finds that a conviction would not stand scrutiny before the European Court of Human Rights, which has acquitted in several similar cases previously, says chief justice Johan Munch to TT.
Upon a gathered review of the statements, it is apparent that they do not fall in the realm of "hate speech," writes the Supreme Court.
This is true for even the most far-reaching of the statements, including the one about cancerous tumours, because it in conjunction with the rest of the sermon cannot be seen as having encouraged or justified hatred against homosexuals, writes the Court.
Finally, I say, finally! Now hopefully we can go back to what should have been done about this idiot from the beginning: ignoring him like we do with the rest of the religious and homophobic whackos. The Supreme Court's ruling, I find, is correct, but raises the question of the point of having an agitation against population group law in the first place, as it can't even be used to get this moron convicted (the Court finds that his statements are punishable by Swedish law, but that the European Convention on Human Rights protects them!). I would hope this would be a step towards a repeal, but knowing the Riksdag and the government, I won't be holding my breath.