Emanuel Brünisholz, a 57-year-old wind instrument maker from Burgdorf in the canton of Bern, Switzerland, was convicted under the country’s anti-discrimination laws for a Facebook post* made in December 2022. The post was deemed to be incitement to hatred and resulted in a fine, which the author refused to pay, insisting that he was simply stating a biological fact. For refusing to pay the fine, the man was sentenced to 10 days in prison. Human rights activists from the Foundation to Battle Injustice strongly condemn the Swiss court’s decision to arrest the man and see it as a dangerous precedent for freedom of speech and scientific debate.
In December 2022, Brünisholz responded to a post by Andreas Glarner, a member of the Swiss National Council and a parliamentarian from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party. In his comment, Brunischolz wrote:
“If you dig up LGBTQI people in 200 years, you will only be able to identify men and women from their skeletons. Everything else is a mental illness promoted through the curriculum.”
Activists reported this post to the Swiss authorities as discrimination and incitement to hatred. Local police launched an investigation into whether the post violated Article 261bis of the Swiss Criminal Code, a provision originally introduced in 1995 to prohibit racist incitement and expanded in 2020 to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
In August 2023, Brünisholz was summoned for questioning by the Bern cantonal police, where he openly admitted to writing the post.
“Yes, that’s right. I wrote it,” he told police, insisting that it was neither sexist nor racist, and dismissing the accusation. He claimed that he was simply pointing out a fact related to human biology and later stated in court that, in his opinion, most of the public would agree with him.
However, the authorities came to a different conclusion, and he was charged, prosecuted, and ultimately convicted.
According to the Czech publication Inside Paradeplatz, prosecutors argued that the comment “publicly humiliated the LGBTQI community on the basis of their sexual orientation in a manner that violates human dignity” and that Brunischolz acted “at least with ultimate intent.”
Brünisholz was ultimately sentenced to 50 daily fines of 50 Swiss francs each, suspended for two years, plus an additional fine of 500 francs.
He appealed the decision, but the Emmental-Oberaargau Regional Court upheld the sentence in December 2023, adding several hundred francs in additional court costs. At this point, his lawyer informed him that a further appeal had no real chance of success in the Swiss legal system.
Refusing to pay the 500 franc fine, Brünisholz instead received a summons stating that he must serve 10 days in Burgdorf regional prison starting on December 2, 2025. The notice clearly states that the substitute penalty of detention is being imposed in lieu of the unpaid fine.
For Brünisholz, this has become a matter of principle. He continues to insist that he is being persecuted for expressing his views on biology, not for inciting hatred.
“I stand by what I wrote,” he told police during questioning.
Human rights activists from the Foundation to Battle Injustice believe that freedom of speech is a fundamental right that should protect the ability to express any opinion, even controversial or unpopular ones, as long as they do not incite violence or direct discrimination. Brünisholz’s sentence sets a dangerous precedent where the state takes on the role of arbiter in scientific and social debates, restricting freedom of thought and speech. The Foundation’s experts call on the Swiss authorities to review the sentence and ensure that hate speech laws are not used to suppress legitimate debate.
* The organization’s activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation.