A SOLICITOR acting for Emily Mapfuwa, who brought a case against the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, for exhibiting a statue of Christ with an erect phallus, has criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for dropping the case (News, 5 September 2007).
Michael Phillips, a consultant lawyer at the Christian Legal Centre, which was representing Ms Mapfuwa, said it was a “very odd decision”. He fears it could have implications for Christians who want to bring similar cases in the future.
Ms Mapfuwa accused the CPS of “pandering to a secularist agenda” and overseeing a “miscarriage of justice” after it dropped the case that she had brought as a private prosecution for “outraging public decency”. Mr Phillips explained that the CPS decided there was no case to answer, as a defence based on freedom of expression was likely to be successful.
The CPS also took into account the fact that the art gallery had displayed a warning at the entrance to the exhibition, and that the exhibition did not cause any public disorder.
Mr Phillips said: “In a way, the fact that Christians have exercised self-control has been to our detriment. Ms Mapfuwa has had her human rights violated — the right to freedom of religion — and you could argue this decision has infringed that, as she has not been able to walk around an art gallery without being offended.
“It could have implications for the future: it seems if the Crown is doing everything possible to prevent Christians bringing these actions by making the silliest of objections. They have made a very odd decision, and it’s hard to imagine they would have made a similar decision against other faith groups.”
The Christian Legal Centre is now considering whether to take the case to a judicial review.
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