Danish Prosecutor Will Not File Charges Against Jyllands-Posten

Yesterday, according to Jurist, Denmark's Director of Public Prosecutions decided that he will not bring criminal charges against the Jyllands-Posten newspaper for publishing caricatures of the prophet Muhammad last September. A complaint had been filed alleging that the paper violated sections 140 and 266 of the Danish Penal Code, but the prosecutor, according to his press release, found no violations. Nevertheless, he pointed out: "Section 140 of the Criminal Code protects religious feelings against mockery and scorn and Section 266 b protects groups of persons against scorn and degradation on account of their religion among other things. To the extent publicly made expressions fall within the scope of these rules there is, therefore, no free and unrestricted right to express opinions about religious subjects." The prosecutor also said that his decision is unappealable. The full text of his 10-page ruling analyzing the relevant legal provisions is also available online. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]