Another victory for free speech?
German court convicts man for insulting Islam - Yahoo! News:
"Manfred van H. printed out sheets of toilet paper bearing the word 'Koran' shortly after a group of Muslims carried out a series of bomb attacks in London in July 2005. He sent the paper to German television stations, magazines and some 15 mosques."
Mr. van H. got off light. His crime carries a maximum of three years imprisonment and he received instead one year suspended, five years probation and 300 hours of community service.
This was a prank in extremely poor taste, but it ought not to be a crime. Of course, there are many things you can't say in Germany, Austria and many other European countries, just as there are things - different things mostly - that you cannot say in most Muslim countries.
It makes you appreciate America even more, I think, to see how tenuous individual rights are even in places where you would think they would be secure.
posted by J. Keen Holland @ 1:24 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Apparently, at least in that part of the US called Massachusetts, one can be penalized for shouting "Remember Chapaquidic (sp?)" while leaving the hall during a speech by the "swimmer".
Mary Jo Kopechne was reportedly unavailable for comment on this incident.
Thanks for the reminder, Ed. As we used to say when the Dems were demanding Nixon's head on a platter, "Nobody drowned at Watergate?"
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