European Court of Human Rights ruled on the case for defaming the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

On October 25, 2018 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg ruled on the case „E.S. v Austria”.

This case-law was related to an appeal of 38-year-old Austrian national who during two of her public workshops on “Basics Information on Islam” in October and November 2009 described the marriage of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to Aisha (r.a.) as pedophilia. Asa result the woman was convictedby the Vienna Regional Criminal Court for disparaging religious doctrines, ordering her to pay a fine of 480 euros and the costs of the proceedings.

After an appeal the decision was upheld also by the Vienna Court of Appeal in February 2011.Later on, the Austrian national appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) claiming that in the case “her freedom of expression has been violated”.

According to the European Court of Human Rights statements like that of the Austrian applicant are not a protected speech. And in its decision the Court says that in this case the speech of E.S. exceeds the limits of the “freedom of expression” and the conviction by the Vienna Court was not in violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Freedom of expression).

According to the ECHR the Vienna Court carefully balanced the applicant's right to freedom of expression with the rights of others to have their religious feelings protected, and to have religious peace preserved in Austrian society

The case once again reminds about the well-established rule that the freedom of a person extends to the point where the freedom of others begins.

Author L. Chausheva