Censored addresses the rise of so-called ‘hate speech’ laws throughout Europe and their devastating effect on freedom of speech. In Germany, for example, committing an ‘insult’ is a criminal offence and in Poland offending ‘religious feelings’ carries a two year prison sentence. In Cyprus, anyone who promotes ‘feelings of ill will’ may be committing a crime, while in Sweden anyone who expresses ‘contempt’ towards a group of people may be imprisoned.
Across Europe, such laws are readily being used. Ministers of religion are arrested for preaching sermons from the Bible, journalists are routinely fined, and even private conversations between citizens can result in criminal investigations.
In fact, Censored documents more than fifty different ‘hate speech’ cases throughout Europe, most of which have occurred in the last decade. A fully up-to-date compendium containing hundreds of European ‘hate speech’ laws is included.
