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DF politician calls hate speech conviction ‘unreasonable’
Shifa Rahaman
February 1st, 2016
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This article is more than 8 years old.
Mogens Camre was sentenced to ten daily fines of 800 krones for comments he tweeted about Muslims in 2014
TV2 reports that DF politician Mogens Camre was convicted of hate speech on Monday for comments he made on Twitter comparing Muslims to Hitler in 2014.
Camre, who is currently a member of the municipal council of Gladsaxe, told media outlets he was “baffled” by the conviction.
Completely unreasonable
The former parliamentarian and MEP believes the conviction is completely unreasonable, and he has questioned why the truth is only palatable when it is stated in academic terms.
“They say the truth is forbidden if one doesn’t talk about it in a completely academic context, whereby nothing can be misunderstood,” he told Ritzau.
The ruling on Monday upheld a previous decision by a court in Glostrup last year, where Camre was sentenced to ten daily fines of 800 kroner each.
Hitler’s legacy
In 2014, Camre tweeted negative comments about Muslims, saying they were carrying on Hitler’s legacy.
“About the situation of Jews in Europe: Muslims continue where Hitler ended. Only the treatment Hitler got will change the situation,” the tweet read.
The High Court, which upheld the ruling, considered the statements a clear example of hate speech and expressed concerns they would incite hate crimes against Muslims. Camre, however, defended his tweets, saying they were not in reference to all Muslims.
“If I say Danes love beer, does that mean that you love beer? Of course not,” he said.
He further clarified his meaning, saying he meant to bomb only violent Muslims.
“We won’t bomb those Muslims who do not carry out violent acts. We will only bomb those posing a threat,” he said.
Samit Badran, who filed the charges against Camre, said his statements and the possible hate crimes they could incite had threatened his sense of security.
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