English comedian Stephen Fry is reportedly under investigation for blasphemy after callingGod utterly evil and a maniacduring an interview with an Irish TV show two years ago.An unidentified member of the publictold the Irish Independentthey had reported the outspoken atheists comments to authorities in western Ireland because they were doing their civic duty by reporting a crime, not because they were personally offended.Individuals who publish or speak blasphemy can face a fine of up to 25,000 under the Republic of IrelandsDefamation Act 2009, according tothe BBC.Fry, who currently stars in CBSs The Great Indoors, criticized God on TV channel RTE in 2015after being asked what hed say to him, her or it if given the chance. Ill say: Bone cancer in children, whats that about' How dare you create a world where there is such misery thats not our fault' Its utterly, utterly evil, he told Gay Byrne, host of program The Meaning of Life. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain'The god who created this universe, if he created this universe, is quite clearly a maniac, an utter maniac, totally selfish, Fry added.We have to spend our lives on our knees thanking him. What kind of god would do that'Yes, the world is very splendid, but it also has in it insects whose whole life cycle is to burrow into the eyes of children and make them blind, he said.The individual claiming responsibility for reporting Frys comments told the Independent that they traveled to the Ennis Garda station to file the report shortly after the interview aired. Theyve repeatedly followed up with police ever since.I told the Garda I wanted to report Fry for uttering blasphemy and RTE for publishing/broadcasting it and that I believed these were criminal offenses under the Defamation Act 2009, the person told the news site. I simply believed that the comments made by Fry on RTE were criminal blasphemy and that I was doing my civic duty by reporting a crime.Local authorities told the Independent that they are investigating the complaint but that charges are unlikely.Other atheists have since rallied behind Fry.Atheist Ireland, which has called the defamation law silly, silencing, and dangerous, responded to news of the investigation by publishing 25 other blasphemous quotes that they released after the Irish law first went into effect.What is the world coming to' Complaints made against Stephen Fry for allegedly violating Irish blasphemy laws. https://t.co/NdU1VTZKws British Humanists (@BHAhumanists) May 6, 2017 TheBritish Humanist Association also releaseda statement on Saturday defending Frys words and also calling for the dissolution of Irelands blasphemy law.It is ridiculous that Stephen Fry is being investigated for a possible breach of Irelands blasphemy laws, BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson said. Not only are such laws detrimental to free speech here in Europe, but they also enable countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran to justify their own laws, which in the case of 13 states come with a death sentence.A spokesperson for Fry, reached by the Telegraph, declined comment, stating: [There is] nothing for us to say while this is under investigation.type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Coverage + articlesList=59095302e4b05279d4edc0ff,58a18ad1e4b0ab2d2b16e572,5908a246e4b084f59b49fce1,589e154be4b0ab2d2b150931 -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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