'Hate speech' anti-gay pastor acquitted
29/11/2005 - 10:55:58Sweden’s highest court today acquitted a Pentecostal pastor accused of hate speech for having denounced homosexuality as a “cancerous tumour” in a sermon.
Ake Green’s contentious sermon in 2003 was protected by the freedom of speech and religion, the Supreme Court in Stockholm said in a 16-page ruling.
Green, 64, delivered a fiery anti-gay sermon two years ago that triggered a legal battle testing the limits of Sweden’s freedom of speech.
He was convicted by a lower court, but acquitted on appeal. Prosecutors had appealed against the appeals court decision to the Supreme Court for a final ruling in the case.
