OSCE Media Freedom Representative criticises sentencing of Austrian author in Greece

VIENNA, 9 February 2005 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, expressed concern over a six-month suspended prison sentence for blasphemy imposed by a Greek court on Austrian author Gerhard Haderer over his comic book. "The Life of Jesus."

The sentence was imposed by a court in Athens on 18 January 2005. The book has also been banned.

"This is the first time in more than twenty years that a book has been banned in Greece," Haraszti said in a letter to Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis.

"'The Life of Jesus' has been published in several other EU member states, including Austria, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Hungary. The book caused public controversy but was never confiscated."

Haraszti added: "Criminalizing and punishing an author for the contents of any book, even if it proves offensive to many people, is certainly contrary to the principles contained in OSCE commitments on freedom of the press."

The OSCE Media Representative urged the Greek government to remove provisions criminalising certain forms of speech from the legal system.