Facts
The Federal Tribunal has annulled the conviction for racial discrimination (Art. 261bis SCC) pronounced by the Geneva courts against [X.] , [Y.] and [Z.] . These three persons are members of the association "[B.] " - Hands Off My Children, which was created in 2001 with the aim of fighting paedophilia within the Catholic clergy. In April 2001, the association distributed a leaflet in many households in Geneva, criticizing the sexual abuse committed by certain Catholic priests on children and calling for measures to protect children. The Federal Tribunal considered that, although the criticism expressed was exaggerated, it targeted the deviant behaviour of certain priests and not the belonging to the Catholic clergy as such. The leaflet did not, therefore, give the impression that Catholic priests would generally be contemptible beings because of their religion. Consequently, the conditions of the offence of racial discrimination provided for in Art. 261bis SCC were not met.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal first recalled that Art. 261bis SCC protects the dignity of the human being as a member of a race, ethnicity or religion, as well as the public peace threatened by acts that can set human groups against each other. However, the freedom of opinion guaranteed by the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights must also be taken into account. Only criticisms that directly violate the principle of human dignity and that of equality can legitimately limit this freedom. In the…