American Atheists | Anti-Cross Judge Tosti Acquitted

Anti-Cross Judge Tosti Acquitted

(ANSA) - L'Aquila, February 17 - An Italian judge campaigning against the presence of crosses in public buildings on Tuesday got a jail conviction quashed for refusing to enter courtrooms unless crucifixes were removed.

Italy's supreme court overturned judge Luigi Tosti's May 2007 seven-month sentence for refusing to carry out his official duties.

Tosti called the sentence ''an important one'' and vowed to carry on his battle.

''It's either me in the courtroom, or crosses''.

The court prosecutor had argued for leniency, saying that since Tosti was replaced by another judge, he should get a new trial on the minor charge of disrupting judicial activity.

But the Cassation Court judges went further and issued a full acquittal, saying that ''no crime was committed''. Tuesday's hearing took place with no crosses in the room.

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Judge Luigi Tosti will be speaking at the 35th National Convention of American Atheists in Atlanta, Georgia April 9-12, 2009. Tosti will be telling the story of how he defied the illegal promotion of sectarian religious symbolism in the otherwise-secular Italian judicial system, and was helped, in part, through an international campaign of conscience on his behalf.