(LifeSiteNews) — A Swiss man has been jailed for suggesting “trans people” are mentally ill, pointing to the clear biological difference in male and female skeletons.
Emanuel Brünisholz was convicted of “hate speech” for a Facebook post which read: “If you excavate LGBTQI people after 200 years, you will only find men and women among the skeletons; everything else is a mental illness that was fostered by the curriculum!”
Brünisholz, a brass instrument maker, was sentenced to pay a fine of 500 Swiss Francs ($628) by the Emmental-Oberaargau regional court.
The court ruled that “the accused, through his comment published on Facebook, publicly denigrated the LGBT(Q)I group of people, on the basis of their sexual orientation, in a manner that violates human dignity.”
The Swiss man refused to pay the fine and was subsequently sentenced to ten days in prison instead. His sentence began on December 2, according to the Telegraph.
Brünisholz argued that his right to free speech had been violated, and that statements about biological realities could not be hate speech. However, he did not appeal the decision, since his lawyers said it would be hopeless.
A transcript of his interrogation by Swiss police showed that he admitted to writing the post. He was incredulous about the allegations and continued to laugh while answering the police’s questions.
In Switzerland, it is illegal to “publicly denigrate” a person based on their sexual identity or orientation.
The case gained international attention and was picked up by U.K. free speech advocates. Irish comedian and writer Graham Linehan published a message by Brünisholz on his X account: “I am fully prepared to go to prison, if that is what it takes to expose the absurdity and authoritarianism of the trans ideology that has now taken root in Switzerland.”
“I intend to face it with good humour; I will not let myself be bent or broken by those who hope to silence me through pressure or intimidation. That, after all, is their aim: to wear me down until I fall quiet. I have no intention of doing so,” he added.