Thread by @docrussjackson

Burchill is in good company: in 2018, UKIP’s Gerard Batten called the prophet Muhammad a 'paedophile' at a rally for far-right leader Tommy Robinson.

Also in 2018, the @ECHR_CEDH ruled that calling the Prophet Muhammad a paedophile was NOT protected by freedom of speech laws. 🧐

https://twitter.com/BoozeAndFagz/status/1338222166312177665

Following the conviction of an Austrian woman for branding Muhammed a pedophile in 2009, the #ECHR ruled that while religions were not exempt from criticism or denial of their beliefs, the woman's comments were not objective & lacked historical context.

newsweek.com/calling-prophe…

The #ECHR said her language "could only be understood as having been aimed at demonstrating that Muhammad was not worthy of worship" & were designed to belittle Islam.

The court also noted the difference between pedophilia and child marriage.

The woman - like Burchill - had failed to show "that his primary sexual interest in Aisha had been her not yet having reached puberty or that his other wives or concubines had been similarly young."

In particular, the #ECHR also said the applicant "had disregarded the fact that the marriage with Aisha had continued until the Prophet's death, when she had already turned eighteen and had therefore passed the age of puberty".

The seven-judge panel also stated it was unacceptable "to pack incriminating statements into the wrapping of an otherwise acceptable expression of opinion & claim that this rendered passable those statements exceeding the permissible limits of freedom of expression."

@AyoCaesar