'''Ake Green''' (born Prosecutor-General appealed this decision to the Supreme Court, which on November 29 also acquitted him. In their opinion, while Åke Green had violated Swedish law as it currently stands, a conviction would most likely be overturned by the European Court of Human Rights, based on their previous rulings regarding Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.<ref> </ref>

In 2002, the Swedish parliament 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 law (''Brottsbalken'') known as The Act on Persecution of Minority Groups (''Lagen om hets mot folkgrupp'').

Green's lawyer maintained his client's religious freedom had been violated.

== The Sermon ==

At his church in Borgholm, Green delivered a sermon [http://www.eaec.org/bibleanswers/ake_green_sermon.htm] in which he described homosexuality as "abnormal, a horrible cancerous tumor in the body of society," and homosexuals as "perverts, whose sexual drive the Devil has used as his strongest weapon against God." He also said that a person cannot be a Christian and a homosexual at the same time. 

He insisted that homosexuality is chosen, not inborn, and claimed that "[e]verybody can be set free and delivered."

At the end of his sermon, Green said: "We cannot condemn these people &mdash; Jesus never did that either. He showed everyone He met deep respect for the person they were (...) Jesus never belittled anyone."

Green had invited media to attend the sermon, but when nobody turned up 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.<ref>Den svenska politiken - Struktur, processer och resultat. Henry Bäck, Torbjörn Larsson, 2006. p. 78</ref>

==Controversy==
The sentence has raised a controversy all around the world, with disputes between those who see it as a victory for free speech.  

Despite his forgiving sentiment, Green became a cause celebre for American, damned.  Nonetheless, Phelps installed a monument praising Green on his website.  (All of the other "monuments" to people on Phelps' sites actually express joy at the death of that person.)  Phelps also launched a new website www.godhatessweden.com [http://www.godhatessweden.com], partially in tribute to Green. Green subsequently denounced Fred Phelps for this. [http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=818&date=20050107] "I think it is appalling that people say things like that," Green said, "it is extremely unpleasant." Enraged, Phelps denounced Green as a traitor and an ingrate, and he later removed the Green tribute from his website.

'''Åke Green''' (s. ruotsalaisen helluntaiseurakunnan vankeuteen homoseksuaaleja vastaan suunnatun hovioikeuteen tuomiota viharikoksesta ei pantu täytäntöön, ja hovioikeus vapautti Åke Greenin kaikista syytteistä 11.2.2005 annetulla päätöksellä uskonnonvapaudesta annetun lainsäädännön perusteella.

Greenin asianajajan mukaan Greenin Ruotsin perustuslaissa määriteltyä oikeutta puhe- ja ilmaisuvapauteen oli loukattu alimman oikeusasteen päätöksellä. Toisaalta Ruotsin ”ilmaisunvapausperustuslaki” (''yttrandefrihetsgrundlag'') koskee ilmaisunvapautta ainoastaan joukkoviestimissä. Syyttäjä oli vaatinut Greenille Ruotsin laissa määrättyä enimmäisrangaistusta kansanryhmän vastaisesta kiihotuksesta, eli neljää vuotta ehdotonta vankeutta.

Greenin tuomio herätti laajaa kansainvälistä huomiota tapauksena sananvapauden ja muiden oikeuksien ristiriitana. Tapauksen saamaa huomioarvoa kasvatti Westboron baptistikirkon vuonna 2004 Intian valtamerellä tapahtuneen maanjäristyksen olleen Jumalan kosto ruotsalaisille. 

Vastaavaa tuomiota on myös vaadittu suuren karismaattisen Livets Ord -seurakunnan johtohenkilöihin kuuluvalle pastori Ulf Ekmanille, mutta toistaiseksi näiden syytteiden ajamisesta on luovuttu odotettaessa hovioikeuden ennakkopäätöstä Åke Greenin tapauksesta.

Oikeusoppineiden piirissä Åke Greenin tapausta on seurattu myös merkittävänä kansainvälisenä ennakkotapauksena sanan- ja uskonnonvapauden rajoista, sillä esimerkiksi Yhdistyneen kuningaskunnan Englannissa ja Walesissa sekä Kanadassa on voimassa Ruotsia vastaava viharikoksia ja kiihotusta koskeva lainsäädäntö, mutta vastaavia uskonnon opettamiseen liittyviä ennakkotapauksia ei ole toistaiseksi käsitelty.

== Saarna ==