This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Two priests and a journalist have been acquitted in a Spanish court of wild claims about "hate speech" over their discussion about the elements of Islam.
It was Custodio Ballester and Jesús Calvo who had been accused by Muslims of hate crimes during a talk show in 201`7.
Also accused was the director of a digital media outlet, Armando Robles.
"The public prosecutor's office had requested a four-year prison sentence for Robles along with a 10-year ban from teaching and a 3,000-euro ($3,500) fine. In the case of the priests, the prosecutor sought a three-year sentence," according to a report from Catholic News Agency.
The decision came from a Provincial Court of Malaga.
The ruling focused on whether the spoken and written words were criminal, the report said.
Franklin Graham, chief of the worldwide Samaritan's Purse Christian ministry, said, "It's unbelievable that this Catholic priest from Spain had to go to trial to defend his right to speak the truth about radical Islam. I appreciate the fact that Father Custodio Ballester wouldn't back down, even in the face of a jail term. He was also threatened with a 10-year ban from preaching. Good news—the Spanish court acquitted him last week! I'm not a Catholic, but I'll be preaching in Spain next year and I hope to have a chance to meet him!"
CNA said the critical ruling focused on whether the statements were "hate crimes" or whether they were protected by Spain's precedents for freedom of expression.
While the court itself blasted the priests' comments, fretting "no matter how despicable and perverse the message" or how "clear offensive" the statements, it found that the elements of hate crimes were not there.
"Not only is there speech protected by freedom of expression, but we could even accept that there is intolerant speech that also exists within the scope of freedom of expression, even though it may be offensive, not only to the group or person to whom it is directed but even to the person listening to it," the court said.
It was the Association of Muslims Against Islamophobia that had complained to the prosecutor's office in Barcelona about the comments from the men during a talk show.
In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, shortly before the trial, Ballester said he felt at peace: "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 cannot counteract," the report revealed.
