Excerpt:
On April 29, 2013, a Spanish court dismissed a hate speech charge filed against Imran Firasat. While this is an important victory for Freedom of Expression, Imran's case is far from over. He is still under the threat of having his refugee status revoked by the Spanish government for his critique of Islam. Should he be deported to Pakistan, Imran will face certain death for his conversion from Islam to Christianity.
European hate speech laws have become a tool for Islamists to silence discussion on any Islamic related topic deemed blasphemous or offensive against Islam or Muhammad. Typically a local Islamic community leader files a report with the police claiming that a specific action or statement was "insulting." The police may then pass the report to the prosecutor under whose discretion criminal charges may be filed in court. Should the trial proceed, the defendant could face a fine or incarceration.
Imran's case was initiated when Helal Jamal Abboshi Khaledi, the General Security of the Union on Communities in Spain, filed his initial hate speech complaint on November 27, 2012 with the Spanish National Police. Under oath, Khaledi informed the police that "there is a person from Pakistan who is spreading propaganda against Islam and its Prophet," which could lead to "confrontation between Muslims and other religions." Two days later, Khaledi "add(ed)" in a a new complaint that Imran had insulted the Spanish Muslim community by "associate(ing)" Islam with "9/11 attack in the United States, the 11 March attack in Madrid and the 7 July attack in London." The Spanish Chief of Police next submitted the complaint to the Prosecutor's office with his endorsement for a criminal trial.