Twitter Joke trial: Sanity prevails, finally

Today Paul Chambers saw his conviction for sending a "menacing electronic communication" quashed. He had been convicted for tweeting "Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!". This appeal was the latest stage of what has become known as the 'Twitter Joke Trial'.

Pirate Party Leader, Loz Kaye commented:

"I am happy that this long running nightmare is over for Paul. But this case should never have gone this far, it has been a huge waste of Police and Court time. Today's verdict is a win for common sense as much as freedom of speech".

"Despite finally arriving at this positive result, the chilling effect on freedom of expression remains. It is time to support free speech and review the Communications Act. The law is clearly broken when a person can be jailed for light-hearted comments on social media. If the government does nothing, there is still the threat of arbitrary arrest for even the briefest harmless joke."

The full judgement can be found here

Loz Kaye
Party Leader
Pirate Party UK
@lozkaye
campaigns@pirateparty.org.uk

Contact:
press@pirateparty.org.uk
+44 (0) 161 987 7880