Two priests threatened with jail for criticizing radical Islam are acquitted

The priests Custodio Ballester and Jesús Calvo, who were tried for criticizing radical Islam along with a layman, have been acquitted by the Provincial Court of Malaga (Spain), which does not see criminal relevance in the demonstrations.

The Prosecutor’s Office requested a sentence of 4 years in prison for the layman Armando Robles, disqualification from teaching for 10 years and a fine of 3,000 euros. In the case of priests, the request for imprisonment was reduced to 3 years, keeping the rest the same.

According to Europa Pressthe ruling, after verifying that the accused have not retracted their words and writings, which are considered proven facts, has focused its analysis on whether these have criminal relevance.

Specifically, it has resolved whether expressions of criticism of radical Islam had legal relevance to any hate crime or responded to the full exercise of the fundamental right to freedom of expression.

The Court determines that the objective or subjective elements of the crime do not exist, as the case may be, “no matter how despicable and perverse the message may be” or even though the statements made publicly may be “clearly offensive” or “unfortunate.”

“Not only is there a speech protected by freedom of expression, but we could even accept that there is an intolerant speech that also develops within the scope of freedom of expression, and this despite the fact that it is offensive, not only for the group or person to whom it is directed, but even for the one who listens to it,” the ruling argues.

Regarding what was expressed by Father Ballester, the court determines 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 towards one of the groups protected by such crime.”

In the case of Father Calvo, he considers that his statements “could well be classified, at least in large part, as delusional”, in the sense of “a verifiable reality that is the product of the delusional ideas and psychological sufferings suffered by the accused.”

In 2017, the Muslims Against Islamophobia Association filed a complaint with the Special Service for Hate Crimes and Discrimination of the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office. The petition requested an investigation into comments made by these three people during a television talk show.

Given that the fiscal domicile of the program in question is located in Malaga, the case was transferred to that province. There, prosecutor María Teresa Verdugo not only evaluated the comments made during the gathering, but also considered relevant an article published in 2016 by priest Custodio Ballester. The text, titled The impossible dialogue with Islamwas written in response to a pastoral letter from the then Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Cardinal Juan José Omella, entitled The necessary dialogue with Islam.

The trial, initially scheduled for September 2024, had to be postponed because Father Ballester’s lawyer had another priority trial scheduled for the same date. Finally, the hearing was rescheduled for October 1.

In statements offered to ACI Prensa, Father Ballester expressed his serenity shortly before the trial: “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 will not be able to counteract.”