News
2005-08-23
Swedish court
sets date for case against pastor who denounced gays
The case of a
Pentecostal pastor accused of hate crimes for denouncing
gays will go before Sweden's supreme court on N
The case of a
Pentecostal pastor accused of hate crimes for denouncing
gays will go before Sweden's supreme court on November 9,
court officials said Monday.
In a sermon in 2003, Ake Green told a
congregation on the island of Oland that gays are "a
deep cancerous tumor on all of society," warning that
Sweden risked a natural disaster because of its leniency
toward gays.
He was handed a 30-day suspended prison sentence
in June 2004, becoming the first clergyman convicted
under Sweden's tough hate-crimes legislation, which
was modified in 2003 to include attacks against gays
and lesbians. However, the conviction was thrown out in
February by an appeals court that said it is not
illegal to offer a personal interpretation of the
Bible and to urge others to follow it. Sweden's chief
prosecutor appealed the decision to the supreme court.
The case has drawn widespread attention in
Europe and the United States. Some Christian groups
say the initial conviction was a threat to freedom of
speech and freedom of religion. Supreme court clerk Ulrika
Ihrfelt said the level of interest in the case may
force the court to move the November hearing to a
larger courtroom. "The appeals court even had to use a
movie theater," where spectators could watch the trial,
Ihrfelt said. "So it's possible we'll move it somewhere
else." (AP)
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