Ten Charged With Hate Speech Towards LGBT Community

LGBT rights group Samtökin ’78 has filed charges of hate speech against 10 individuals, for comments they made about gay and trans people.

RÚV reports that in the wake of recent events surrounding Hafnarfjörður’s decision to start teaching gay studies in schools, numerous individuals have publicly commented on social media on the matter, as is often the case with news stories. Some of these comments, however, may have broken Icelandic law.

Article 233(a) of the General Penal Code states: “Anyone who does by means of ridicule, calumniation, insult, threat or otherwise assault [a person or group of persons] on account of their nationality, colour, [race, religion or sexual inclination] shall be subject to fines or imprisonment for up to 2 years.”

LGBT rights group Samtökin ’78 has filed charges with the capital area police against ten individuals they contend broke this law with statements they publicly made about people in the LGBT community.

While Samtökin ’78 chairperson Hilmar Hildarson Magnúsarson said he would not give specific examples, as the matter is now in police hands, the comments made “were simply vindicative and hurtful, slander and insults.”