Pastor in Germany Sentenced For Hate Speech
On November 25th, the Bremen District Court sentenced the protestant Pastor Olaf Latzel for hate speech. He had made several strongly derogatory statements about homosexuality based on his understanding of the Bible, for which he repeatedly apologised. The pastor has been sentenced to a fine of 8.100 Euro. According to the court, he had incited hatred against homosexuals and intersexuals. Olaf Latzel announced he will not accept the sentence. His lawyer demands an acquittal.
Source: hapd.media
Symbilic Photo by zelle duda on Unsplash
Update 20.05.2022: On May 20th, a German court ruled that Olaf Latzel was not guilty of the charges brought against him. The judge said that his speech had not incited hatred against LGBTQ people as although “'these statements are more than alienating from a social point of view—especially from one holding such a high office' the theological distinction between human beings and lived practice, Göhner said, can be hard to discern," reported Christianity Today.
Regina König, a reporter for the German evangelical outlet ERF Medien said that in the first ruling, “The presiding judge Ellen Best justified her verdict with the statement that Olaf Latzel incited ‘hatred against homosexuals’ by having the ‘marriage seminar’ put online,” and "said it was fearmongering. The fact that the defendant condemned homosexuality from the perspective of the Bible was irrelevant.”
Latzel’s case received a significant amount of attention but him and his church also suffered as a result. It was tagged with pro-LGBTQ+ graffiti, and protestors held signs with slogans such as: “You can’t pray the gay away.”
Catholic theologian Georg Essen said: “The verdict is appropriate from a legal perspective,” Essen, who specializes in constitutional issues and state-church law, told the German Catholic news agency. “The legal hurdles to convicting someone of incitement to hatred are very high. It's not enough to be harsh on or insult someone. There must be a public call for hatred and a threat to public peace—and that must be clear in a court of law.”
"We are living in a situation of social upheaval,” he said. “For about ten years, there has been increased debate on access to marriage for homosexuals and the importance of ‘queer’ identities. Traditional ways of life and gender identities are in flux. It would be strange if there weren't upheavals and conflicts.”
Update Source: christianitytoday.com