A Swiss court has acquitted three men who announced their intention to burn copies of the Qur’an and the Bible on Bern’s Parliament Square last November.

The book burnings never took place but the three, two Indians and a Swiss, were charged with violating laws on freedom of faith and religious practice, Swissinfo reports.

The judge ruled that the men could not be prosecuted for simply announcing their intention to burn the religious texts. However the three were asked to pay half of the costs on the grounds that they had overstepped the boundaries of personal freedom and injured the religious feelings of others.

The men, who describe themselves as Hindu, tried unsuccessfully before to have the two holy books banned to children and young people because of the texts’ alleged pornographic content and incitement to violence.

SOURCE

Koran and Bible-burning trio acquitted (Swissinfo)