Åke Green (; born 3 June 1941) is a Swedish Pentecostal Christian pastor who was prosecuted, but acquitted, under Sweden's law against hate speech because of critical opinions on homosexuality in his sermons. The district court found him guilty and sentenced him to one month in prison. The sentence was appealed to the court of appeals (hovrätt). On 11 February 2005, the Göta Court of Appeal overturned the decision and acquitted Åke Green. On 9 March, the Prosecutor-General (Riksåklagaren) appealed this decision to the Supreme Court, which on 29 November also acquitted. The Supreme Court stated that Åke Green had violated Swedish law as it currently stands regarding agitation against groups, and that the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression as well as freedom of religion does not protect him. However, the Supreme Court also stated that the freedom of expression as well as freedom of religion provided by the European Convention on Human Rights, which is superior to normal Swedish law according to the lex superior principle regarding the ECHR found in the Instrument of Government (Regeringsformen) 2:19, gives him protection, since jurisprudence shows that a conviction would probably not be upheld by the European Court. Background In 2002, the Riksdag included references to sexual orientation in a list of groups protected against persecution in the form of threats and expressions of disdain. The list appears in a section of Swedish Criminal Code (Brottsbalken) known as "agitation against a population group" (hets mot folkgrupp). The sermon At his church in Borgholm, Green delivered a sermon in which he described "sexual perversions" (referencing homosexuality) as "abnormal, a horrible cancerous tumor in the body of society." He also said that a person cannot be a Christian and a homosexual at the same time. Green had invited members of the media to attend the sermon, but none were present when he preached it in the presence of about fifty listeners. He wrote a summary of the sermon, including the above-mentioned quotes, which was printed in the local newspaper Ölandsbladet. A representative of nearby Kalmar's RFSL, an LGBT equal rights organization, reported the sermon to the police and the controversy began. Controversy The district court found Åke Green guilty and sentenced him to one month in prison. The sentence was appealed to the court of appeals (hovrätt) and Green's lawyer maintained his client's religious freedom had been violated. On 11 February 2005 Göta hovrätt