European Constitutional Law Review, Forthcoming11 Pages Posted: 1 Mar 2019Stijn SmetHasselt UniversityDate Written: December 20, 2018AbstractIn E.S. v Austria the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg Court or Court) has ruled, not for the first time, that Austria can legitimately curb free speech to protect the religious feelings of believers. The applicant in E.S. intimated, during seminars she gave on Islam, that the Prophet Muhammad was a paedophile. The Austrian courts subsequently found her guilty of the criminal offense of publicly disparaging, in a manner capable of arousing justified indignation, a person (Muhammad) who is an object of veneration. In E.S., the Strasbourg Court endorses the Austrian courts’ reasoning and rules that the applicant’s freedom of expression has not been violated.Suggested Citation:
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