Original Article By David Lindfield
A Swiss man is set to serve 10 days in prison over a Facebook post declaring it is “a mental illness” to deny that there are only biological men and women.
Emanuel Brünisholz was jailed after refusing to pay fines for the “illegal” post.
Brünisholz, a wind instrument repairman, was hit with penalties under Switzerland’s anti-discrimination law after writing:
“If you dig up LGBTQI people after 200 years, you’ll only find men and women based on their skeletons.
“Everything else is a mental illness promoted through the curriculum.”
The post was made in response to Swiss National Council member Andreas Glarner.
Brünisholz’s comments drew complaints from LGBT activists who claimed it amounted to “public incitement to hatred” under Article 261bis of the Swiss Criminal Code.
The law, which dates back to 1995, initially targeted racial and religious hate speech.
However, it was expanded in 2020 to cover wrongthink on sexual identity.
Police Investigation and Court Ruling
Burgdorf Police questioned Brünisholz on August 15, 2023, asking him what he meant by his statement.
“Well, that those who think there’s not just man and woman, I want to tell them that there’s only man and woman,” he responded.
He also referred to the “LGBTQI community” as an “extremist bunch.”
The Bernese judiciary concluded that his Facebook post “publicly belittled the group of LGBT(Q)I people based on their sexual orientation and in a way that violates human dignity.”
He was fined 500 Swiss francs (about $580), with non-payment translating to 10 days in prison.
After Brünisholz objected, a regional court upheld the ruling, adding another 600-franc fine.
Rather than pay, he chose jail time and announced on social media:
“It’s happening. On December 2, I’m going to prison for 10 days!”
Backlash and Support
The ruling sparked outrage online.
Critics denounced the decision as Orwellian, saying it punishes citizens for stating biological facts.
“1984 is here,” one user wrote, noting Brünisholz was “going to prison for stating a fact.”
Laura Wadsworth commented:
“Male and female skeletons ARE different.
“We can find a 1,000-year-old skeleton and know whether it was male or female.
“We are living through the stupidest age in the history of the world.”
Not everyone opposed the ruling.
A German-speaking user named Christ told Brünisholz on X:
“You got off pretty cheap for your disgusting remarks.”
Free Speech Under Fire
The case underscores the growing clash between free expression and Europe’s sweeping “hate speech” laws.
While gender dysphoria was long classified as a mental disorder, courts in Switzerland are now prosecuting citizens for saying so publicly.
For Brünisholz, the choice was clear: accept punishment or defy it.
He chose prison.
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