Five years in prison for "insulting the church"?

Yes, there really is a reason the Founders included a Bill of Rights: Standard practice in Europe. Still standard practice. The BBC has the story :

A Greek court has adjourned until early next year the trial of an art curator charged with publicly insulting the eastern Orthodox Church.

Christos Ioakimidis could be jailed for up to five years for showing a painting combining Christian and sexual imagery....

The Athens court said it delayed the trial that was set to open on Friday because of its busy schedule, according to Reuters news agency.

Mr Ioakimidis organised a major modern art exhibition in Greece as part of a series of cultural events leading up to the summer Olympics in Athens.

The case against him stems from a painting by Belgian artist Thierry de Cordier.

It was taken down after party leader Georges Karatzaferis lodged a complaint with the Supreme Court....

Mr Iaokimidis is charged with insulting public decency and the Church.

To my mind it would be more appropriate to charge Mr. Karatzaferis with instigating violence against innocent people, but what do I know? I'm an American.

Cases like this are only one of the better reasons for voting against the EU Constitution: If Ioakimidis had been in London, Greece could have demanded his extradition to face criminal charges for an offense which isn't illegal in Britain. At least that is my understanding. It may already be the case under EU treaties, tho. I not sure.

In any case, the EU is not America in Europe. They really are politically far more authoritarian than we are. Almost as much so as the liberal arts departments at American universities.

Thanks to ArtsJournal for the tip.