Two Spanish priests and a journalist who faced the prospect of prison for criticising radical Islam have been acquitted by a provincial court, bringing to an end an eight-year legal battle that tested the limits of free expression in religious debate.
The Provincial Court of Málaga cleared Father Custodio Ballester, Father Jesús Calvo, and journalist Armando Robles of hate crime charges arising from a 2017 television broadcast in which they made comments critical of radical Islam.
Prosecutors had sought prison sentences of up to three years for the priests and four years for Robles, along with fines and a teaching ban.
