Preacherman
Member
Some of you may remember the Danish pizzeria owner who refused to serve French and German tourists because their governments would not support the USA and Britain in the war against Iraq. He was discussed in this thread, this one and this one.
Well, he's been convicted of "discrimination", and his conviction has been upheld on appeal, so he's facing a jail sentence (since he refuses to pay a fine). From the Telegraph, London (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...za21.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/08/21/ixworld.html):
Jail for pizza man who barred Germans
By Julian Isherwood in Copenhagen
(Filed: 21/08/2003)
A Danish pizzeria owner who refused to sell pizzas to Germans or Frenchmen because of their governments' stance on the war in Iraq is to go to prison.
An appeal court upheld the conviction yesterday of Niels-Aage Bjerre for discrimination and his fine of £500. He said he would refuse to pay and will instead spend eight days in jail.
"I will not pay the fine but I'll do the time instead," said Bjerre. "It is a matter of principle."
He has closed his pizzeria, on the Danish holiday island of Fanoe rather than be forced to serve German and French nationals.
Bjerre instituted the boycott in February and was reported to the authorities after an incident three months later when he found that a couple he had served was German.
Then Bjerre promptly retrieved their pizzas, returned their money and told them to leave.
He said yesterday that both the courts and those who had reported him to the authorities were "traitors".
"The judges have chosen to support those who do not support the official Danish position on the war against Iraq."
His boycott would end only "if the governments of France and Germany change their attitude toward the United States and support Washington wholeheartedly," he added.
After he has served his sentence in an open prison, which is unlikely to take place for at least another two months due to overfilled Danish jails, Bjerre said he planned to sell frozen pizzas over the internet, hopefully to the American market.
"My internet home page will say quite clearly: no pizzas for the Germans," he warned.
Well, he's been convicted of "discrimination", and his conviction has been upheld on appeal, so he's facing a jail sentence (since he refuses to pay a fine). From the Telegraph, London (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...za21.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/08/21/ixworld.html):
Jail for pizza man who barred Germans
By Julian Isherwood in Copenhagen
(Filed: 21/08/2003)
A Danish pizzeria owner who refused to sell pizzas to Germans or Frenchmen because of their governments' stance on the war in Iraq is to go to prison.
An appeal court upheld the conviction yesterday of Niels-Aage Bjerre for discrimination and his fine of £500. He said he would refuse to pay and will instead spend eight days in jail.
"I will not pay the fine but I'll do the time instead," said Bjerre. "It is a matter of principle."
He has closed his pizzeria, on the Danish holiday island of Fanoe rather than be forced to serve German and French nationals.
Bjerre instituted the boycott in February and was reported to the authorities after an incident three months later when he found that a couple he had served was German.
Then Bjerre promptly retrieved their pizzas, returned their money and told them to leave.
He said yesterday that both the courts and those who had reported him to the authorities were "traitors".
"The judges have chosen to support those who do not support the official Danish position on the war against Iraq."
His boycott would end only "if the governments of France and Germany change their attitude toward the United States and support Washington wholeheartedly," he added.
After he has served his sentence in an open prison, which is unlikely to take place for at least another two months due to overfilled Danish jails, Bjerre said he planned to sell frozen pizzas over the internet, hopefully to the American market.
"My internet home page will say quite clearly: no pizzas for the Germans," he warned.
