Almost sixteen months ago, we reported the enforcement of an outdated Greek law related to insulting one’s religion, in a case that involved the arrest of the creator of a parody Facebook page.
“Pastitsios the Elder” poked fun at a long-demised monk, whose name – Paisios – rhymed with a popular Greek pasta dish, pastitsio.
Pastitsios the Elder – a monk / food parody combo.
On that Facebook page, the depiction of an abstract face made of pastitsio and the attribution of mocked statements to the late monk, was a humorous reference to Pastafarianism – a parody religion.
Two days ago, the Greek court handling the case, sentenced the Facebook page’s creator to 10 months in prison, after finding him guilty of “repeatedly insulting religion.”
Although the sentence was suspended, the case raises questions over Facebook’s practice to provide the user’s info to the Greek authorities, for simply exercising his freedom of speech rights.
It is ironic that the right-wing party Golden Dawn that raised the matter at the Greek parliament, is now under investigation over its direct involvement in hate crimes in Greece, and its leaders are in prison.
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