(Fox) A Spanish priest who was facing three years in prison for remarks he made in 2016 that were critical of radical Islam was acquitted.
“I thank God and the Christian people who supported me with their prayers and their presence in court,” Father Custodio Ballester told Fox News Digital in a statement Monday of his acquittal, which was published on Friday.
Ballester, along with another priest, Fr. Jesús Calvo, and journalist Armando Robles, faced multiple years behind bars for alleged hate-speech violations.
According to Europa Press, “the Málaga court ruled that the objective and/or subjective elements required for the hate-speech offence are lacking. In the words of the court: ‘No matter how despicable or perverse the message may be, or even if the statements may be clearly offensive or unfortunate,’ they do not in themselves constitute a punishable offence.”
