COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish leader of a press freedom group has been fined 5,000 kroner ($1,000) for making a series of insulting and degrading statements about Muslims that violate Denmark's racism law.
The Eastern High Court says Lars Hedegaard of the International Free Press Society made the comments in a 2009 interview that was taped and eventually posted on a blog.
The court says Hedegaard’s statements included the phrases "girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins or their father," and "women have no value — they are not people."
Hedegaard had pleaded not guilty, claiming he had not approved the interview’s content before it was published.
After Tuesday’s ruling, which overturned a ruling by a lower court, Hedegaard insisted that he is not a racist.
