Prominent Spanish priest Father Custodio Ballester, another priest Father Jesus Calvo, and a journalist Armando Robles, who all faced being jailed for criticising radical Islam — have been acquitted by the Provincial Court of Malaga.
It brings an end to an eight-year legal battle that tested the limits of free expression in religious debate in Spain.
Father Ballester and his colleagues were charged with hate crimes related to a TV broadcast in 2017, in which they made the comments that attracted a formal complaint.
The court also considered an article by Father Ballester in 2016 by Father Ballester entitled The Impossible Dialogue with Islam”.
It was written in response to a pastoral letter from the then-archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan José Omella, titled The Necessary Dialogue with Islam.
“Islam does not allow for dialogue. You either believe or you are an infidel who must be subdued one way or another,” Father Ballester wrote.
PRIEST DENIES COMMENTS WERE HATE SPEECH OR DISCRIMINATORY
In a follow-up YouTube video, Father Ballester expanded on his remarks, warning that “Islam not only poses a threat in Europe, but also that in many Muslim-majority countries, Christians face persecution.”
The Association of Spanish Muslims Against Islamophobia, responded to Father Ballester’s public comments by filing a complaint that prompted charges against the priest.
Father Ballester told the Catholic News Agency (CNA) that his words were not hate speech or discriminatory.
He believed the outcome of his case would determine “the survival of freedom of expression in today’s Spain.”
WHAT THE COURT RULED
The court ruled the defendants’ words were “offensive” and “unfortunate,” but they did not meet the legal threshold for “hate crimes” under Spanish law.
The public prosecutor’s office had requested a four-year prison sentence for Mr. Robles who’s the director of a digital media outlet, and three-years jail each for the priests.
According to Europa Press, after verifying that the defendants had not retracted their words and writings which were treated as proven facts, the court focused its analysis and ruling on whether the spoken and written words were crimes.
Specifically, it had to decide whether the statements criticising radical Islam qualified as hate crimes under the law, or were merely protected instances of freedom of expression.
THE COURT’S CONCLUSION
The court concluded that the elements of a hate crime were not present, “no matter how despicable and perverse the message” or how “clearly offensive” or “unfortunate” the statements.
“Not only is their speech protected by freedom of expression, but we could even accept that there is intolerant speech that also exists within the scope of freedom of expression, even though it may be offensive, not only to the group or person to whom it is directed, but even to the person listening to it,” the ruling stated.
Regarding Father Ballester’s comments, the court determined that “no matter how despicable and perverse the message or its author may be, if it is not accompanied by a clear and manifest promotion of hatred toward one of the groups protected by [the existence of] such a crime, it is not criminal.”
In the case of Father Calvo, the court noted that his statements “could well be classified, at least in large part, as delirious,” in the sense of “a verifiable reality resulting from the delirious ideas and psychological ailments suffered by the accused.”
“SPAIN’S HATE LAW IS LEGALLY A BLANK CHECK”
“The Hate Law is legally a ‘blank law’ or a blank check,” declared Father Ballester.
“Not even the prosecutors themselves know how to define ‘hate.’”
“They fabricate the crime in each case based on who allegedly committed it, and it’s a one-way crime.”
“They only charge Christians, never Muslims,” Father Ballester asserted.
FATHER BALLESTER “AT PEACE” OVER ORDEAL
In a statement to ACI Prensa shortly before the trial, Father Ballester said he felt at peace:
“As Jesus Christ says, they will take us to the synagogue and the courts, and there the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom that our adversaries cannot counteract.”
Spain’s hate speech legislation was first outlined in the Spanish Penal Code in 1995 and later expanded in 2015 to include online offences.
The laws criminalise public expressions that incite hatred, hostility, discrimination, or violence against individuals or groups.
Those groups would be based on religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, illness, or disability.
The post Spanish Priest Cleared of Hate Crime appeared first on Vision Christian Media.