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Contrary to popular belief there is no real freedom of speech in Europe, as least not in the sense as Americans know it. You can still get up to 2 years of pris
by melvinmt 10y ago
Contrary to popular belief there is no real freedom of speech in Europe, as least not in the sense as Americans know it. You can still get up to 2 years of prison time for insulting the King or a friendly Head of State in the Netherlands (and Germany apparently), you can be prosecuted in French for ridiculing the Holocaust (just look at the case for Dieudonné) and the list goes on and on.
Erdogan is of course an insecure and manipulative guy who likes to get back at anyone who mocks him, but he's also quite smart to be aware of and to use the legal options that are available to him in Germany as well as in Turkey. If you don't like it, and supposedly uphold liberal values, change the laws. It's as simple as that.
- hospes 10y ago>> You can be prosecuted in French for ridiculing the Holocaust. I think that is a good thing, especially with rise of anti-semitism in different parts of the world. Ridiculing the Holocaust or any other Genocide is not a free speech, it is a hate speech.
- cbd1984 10y agoHate speech is one kind of free speech, and be very suspicious of anyone who tries to tell you otherwise: They mean to suppress dissent.