This is a press release for Peter Tatchell
Sentence excessive, unreasonable
Free speech includes the right to be offensive
“Barry Thew’s t-shirt was offensive but in a free society the public should have the right to criticise – and even insult – the police. His four month jail sentence is unreasonable. No one should be jailed for a mere insult,” said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of the Reform Section 5 campaign.
Reform Section 5 is lobbying the government for the repeal of the crime of “insult” in Section 5 of the 1986 Public Order Act.
“Mr Thew sounds an unpleasant character, with a long criminal history. It was insensitive and distressing for him to wear his anti-police t-shirt on that day. I empathise with the loved ones of the officers who were killed. However, four months in prison is excessive for offensive, insulting words.
“The price of free speech is that we sometimes have to put up with views we find offensive.
“Insults are not nice and I would discourage them. But they should not be crimes.
“I suspect Barry Thew would not have been sent to prison if he had insulted someone other than the police. He said his t-shirt had nothing to do with the slain Manchester police officers. It concerned other personal grievances that he has with the police.
“There is no evidence that his t-shirt was directed at the officers who were murdered. He claims he was already wearing the t-shirt before the officers’ deaths became publicly known.
“An additional mitigating factor is his mental health issues, which may have affected his judgement about the wording and wearing of the t-shirt,” said Mr Tatchell.
See background to the Barry Thew story here: http://bit.ly/Ql7veW
