2-3 days ago

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33378778/

Europe
Iceland makes blasphemy legal
3 July 2015
From the section Europe


Iceland's parliament has abolished its blasphemy laws, despite opposition from some of the country's churches.
A bill was put forward by the minority Pirate Party, which campaigns for internet and data freedom.
It came after the deadly attack the same month against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
The bill said it was "essential in a free society that the public can express themselves without fear of punishment".
As three members of the Pirate Party stood before parliament on Thursday, each said: "Je Suis Charlie", an expression used globally to express solidarity with the Charlie Hebdo victims.


After the ruling, the party wrote on its blog (in Icelandic): "Iceland's parliament has now established the important message that freedom will not give in to bloody attacks."
The blasphemy law had been in place since 1940, and anyone found guilty could have been sentenced to a fine or three months in prison.
In pictures: Iceland's desolate churches

Iceland's main religions

Lutheran state church: 80%

Other Christian denominations: 5%

Asatru (traditional Norse religion): 5%

The Iceland Monitor website said that the Church of Iceland supported the change, and quoted them as saying that "any legislative powers limiting freedom of expression in this way is at variance with modern-day attitudes towards human rights".
The Catholic Church of Iceland, the Pentecostal Church and the Church of Iceland's eastern province opposed the changes.
The Catholic Church wrote in comments submitted after the bill was proposed: "Should freedom of expression go so far as to mean that the identity of a person of faith can be freely insulted, then personal freedom - as individuals or groups - is undermined."
The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association said that the new law included provisions to ensure that people could still be prosecuted for hate speech.

The Pirate Party

The Pirate movement was formed in Sweden in 2006 and has since spread to more than 60 countries.
None has seen as much success as the Icelandic branch, which says it is an "international political force fighting for genuine transparency and accountability in government".
In the 2013 election, it gained three MPs for the first time, and polls now say it is the most popular party in Iceland, with the support of 32.4% of the country.
In 2013, its members drafted a law calling for whistleblower Edward Snowden to be granted Icelandic citizenship.
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See World Map- Color Coded By Severity Of Crime

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_lawBlasphemy law

Local restrictions
Fines and restrictions
Prison sentences
Death sentences

"An Act against Atheism and Blasphemy" as enacted in 1697 in "His Majesty's PROVINCE of the MASSACHUSETTS-BAY in NEW-ENGLAND" (1759 printing)

Blasphemy law is a law limiting the freedom of speech and expression relating to blasphemy, or irreverence toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, or beliefs.

In place of, or in addition to, prohibitions against blasphemy, some countries have laws which give redress to those who feel insulted on account of their religion. These laws forbid hate speech, the vilification of religion, or "religious insult".

In many countries either there are no laws against blasphemy, or long-established laws are no longer enforced. In the United States, for example, a prosecution for blasphemy would violate the Constitution according to the 1952 Supreme Court case Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson. The United Kingdom abolished its laws against blasphemy in England and Wales in 2008 with the passage of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act.[1] The last person hanged for blasphemy in Great Britain was Thomas Aikenhead, aged 20, in Scotland in 1697. He was prosecuted for denying the veracity of the Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ's miracles.[2]

Similarly, in practically all of the developed Western world and East Asian developed democracies like Japan and Taiwan, blasphemy laws, when existent, are largely de facto dead letter.

In Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has recommended that countries enact laws that protect the freedom of expression.

As of 2015 in some jurisdictions the death penalty may be applicable to blasphemy.

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What did they consider as blasphemy?

they actually have a 'pirate' party?

Is it possible to enforce penalties, anywhere ?

Finally a political party that is right for me.