Danish man charged with blasphemy for burning Quran

A Danish man has been charged for burning the Quran and then uploading the vedio online, the first such case under Denmark's blasphemy law in 46 years, a Danish prosecutor said on Wednesday.



The 42-year-old, whose name was not revealed, published in December 2015 a video on Facebook recording his burning of a copy of Islam's holy book in his back yard, according to a statement from the country's prosecuttor's office.



"It is the prosecution's view that circumstances involving the burning of holy books such as the Bible and the Quran can in certain cases be a violation of the blasphemy clause, which covers public scorn or mockery of religion," Attorney General Jan Reckendorff said in the statement.



The last time that one has been prosecuted under Denmark's blasphemy clause was in 1971, when two program leaders at Danish Radio were exonerated for airing a song mocking Christianity.



"It is our opinion that the circumstances of this case implies that there should be prosecution so that the courts now have the opportunity to take a position on the matter," Reckendorff added.



According to the Danish law, the maximum penalty for blasphemy provision is imprisonment for up to four months. Reckendorff however noted that the penalty in this case might be a fine.

