Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oct 3, 2025 / 14:23 pm

Freedom of speech and religion in Spain is in play as Father Custodio Ballester faces a possible three-year prison sentence and fines after a trial this week found him guilty of making allegedly “Islamophobic” statements in print and in an interview.

Questioned by CNA about his upcoming sentencing, Ballester said: “The survival of freedom of expression in today’s Spain depends on the ruling in this case. Otherwise, we’ll be headed toward a new Cuban dictatorship. One where you were arrested for what you said as well as for what you thought, if it differed from what [Cuban communist dictator] Fidel Castro decided.”

Ballester and two others, fellow priest Father Jesús Calvo and journalist Armando Robles, were accused of making allegedly Islamoph

See Full Page