Members of the Left Green Movement have introduced legislation making it legal to insult foreign national leaders. Currently it is illegal to insult or belittle a foreign head of state, the flag of a foreign nation, its coat of arms or emblem. The ban extends to the flags of the United Nations and the flag of the European Union. Such insults are punishable with a fine or up to six years in prison.
The MPs argue that the law is a serious anachronism and the sanctions excessive. Moreover, the law was a clear violation of the freedom of speech. It is especially important, they argue, to abolish the law now when the freedom of speech is under fire around the world and governments are increasingly trying to silence criticism.
Read more: Icelandic MPs spar over whether it's appropriate to call Donald Trump a fascist
The introduction of the bill comes on the heels of a debate on whether it is permissible or appropriate to call the US President Donald Trump a fascist. A MP for the conservative Independence Party criticized two Pirate Party MPs for calling Trump a fascist, saying it was inappropriate: we do not call the democratically elected President of the US a fascist,
A notorious law associated with Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler
The law has very rarely been evoked in court. The most notorious example is a 1934 case when Þórbergur Þórðarson, one of Iceland's most celebrated authors, was sentenced to pay a fine for having insulted the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. The author had called Hitler a sadist and a bloody dog who was guilty of unleashing a wave of murder and suffering. Þórbergur was sentenced to pay a 200 ISK fine.
In a separate case another celebrated author and poet Steinn Steinarr was found guilty of insulting the German flag. Steinn and a group of left wing activists had dishonored the flag of the Nazi regime. The group had cut down the flag of the German consul in the town of Siglufjörður in North Iceland. The District Court of Reykjavík sentenced him to three months in prison. The Supreme Court later reduced the sentence to a two month prison term.
Members of the Left Green Movement have introduced legislation making it legal to insult foreign national leaders. Currently it is illegal to insult or belittle a foreign head of state, the flag of a foreign nation, its coat of arms or emblem. The ban extends to the flags of the United Nations and the flag of the European Union. Such insults are punishable with a fine or up to six years in prison.
The MPs argue that the law is a serious anachronism and the sanctions excessive. Moreover, the law was a clear violation of the freedom of speech. It is especially important, they argue, to abolish the law now when the freedom of speech is under fire around the world and governments are increasingly trying to silence criticism.
Read more: Icelandic MPs spar over whether it's appropriate to call Donald Trump a fascist
The introduction of the bill comes on the heels of a debate on whether it is permissible or appropriate to call the US President Donald Trump a fascist. A MP for the conservative Independence Party criticized two Pirate Party MPs for calling Trump a fascist, saying it was inappropriate: we do not call the democratically elected President of the US a fascist,
A notorious law associated with Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler
The law has very rarely been evoked in court. The most notorious example is a 1934 case when Þórbergur Þórðarson, one of Iceland's most celebrated authors, was sentenced to pay a fine for having insulted the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. The author had called Hitler a sadist and a bloody dog who was guilty of unleashing a wave of murder and suffering. Þórbergur was sentenced to pay a 200 ISK fine.
In a separate case another celebrated author and poet Steinn Steinarr was found guilty of insulting the German flag. Steinn and a group of left wing activists had dishonored the flag of the Nazi regime. The group had cut down the flag of the German consul in the town of Siglufjörður in North Iceland. The District Court of Reykjavík sentenced him to three months in prison. The Supreme Court later reduced the sentence to a two month prison term.
