Spanish Blasphemy Laws: The Judicary Plays Islam Expert
If convicted, he could face a fine of more than €1,500 and up to three years in prison.
A prosecutor in Catalonia started in 2020 an investigation against Rev. Ballester over his essay 'The Impossible Dialogue with Islam', published in 2016. Four years later, Ballester is still awaiting trial.
Reverend Ballester wrote: "Islam does not allow dialogue. For Islam, you either believe or you are an infidel who must be subjugated one way or another". He believes that Islam aims to "destroy" all those who refuse to accept Muhammad as "the final prophet of God".
On 5 March, Father Ballester told CatholicNewsAgency.com that he knew Muslims who were "not offended and understood perfectly" that he was referring to those who live Islam in a violent way.
And: "If I am convicted, this will no longer be Spain, but Pakistan, where you can be killed for blaspheming the Koran or Muhammad."
"There is no real right to freedom of expression in Spain," said Father Ballester, stating the obvious.
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