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Austria: Hate Speech Upheld

Austria: Hate Speech Upheld

European Centre for Law and Justice / en

In late March, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) refused to refer the case of Mrs Sabaditsch-Wolff v Austria to the Grand Chamber to contest her conviction for stating that 56-year-old Mohammed consummating his marriage to his nine-year-old wife could be viewed as ‘paedophilia’.

When convicted in 2011 she was fined 480 euros and threatened with a custodial sentence for non-payment. After losing her appeal in Austria and then with the ECHR in late 2018, the case was referred to the Grand Chamber for review. The original conviction was on the basis of a criminal provision prohibiting blasphemy in substance.