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Private Prosecution Filed In London Over Offensive Jesus Statue

By Howard M. Friedman

Ekklesia yesterday reported that in Britain, London resident Emily Mapfuwa, backed by the Christian Legal Centre, has filed a private prosecution against the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The lawsuit alleges that the Centre committed an "act of a lewd and a disgusting nature and outraged public decency contrary to Common Law" by displaying artist Terence Koh's statue of Jesus with an erect penis. The statue is part of an exhibit titled "Gone, Yet Still", displaying art of Chinese-born artist Koh as well as works by Tracey Emin and Mark Titchner. The suit is being brought as a private prosecution because police concluded in May that there was no cause to prosecute. Civil rights activists say the suit is an attempt to bring back the abolished crime of blasphemy indirectly.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on September 04, 2008 (boomark / email).