Christian man facing jail for ex-LGBT testimony reported to police by EU equality official: report

A police report has been filed in Malta accusing a Christian man of illegally advertising a “conversion therapy” to describe how he left the gay lifestyle, a top equality official in the European Union has said, with ties to a gay rights organization. was allegedly filed with the persons in possession.

Sylvan Agius, who serves as a cabinet expert to Helena Dalli, the EU commissioner for equality, confirmed to the Maltese outlet Lovin Malta that he was among the three people who represented Matthew Grech, 33, in court. Reports were filed to the journalists who interviewed him. , which was first reported by PMNews Malta.

Agius declined to comment further about the ongoing case to the Maltese outlet, and did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the time of publication.

The other two people who filed complaints were Christian Attard, a founding member of the Malta LGTBIQ Rights Movement, and Cynthia Chirkop, co-chair of the organization, the outlet reported. Attard has served on the European Commission on Sexual Orientation Law.

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Matthew Grech, 33, faces possible fines and jail time for allegedly advertising “conversion practices” after he gave an interview about his life and how he left homosexuality. (Christian concern)

Grech and the journalists who interviewed him face fines of up to €5,000 or up to five months in prison if found guilty. Violation of Article 3 The Affirmation of Malta’s Sexual Orientation, Gender and Gender Expression Act, which makes it “unlawful for any person” to “advertise conversion practices.”

Grech explained to Fox News Digital in January that during an April 2022 interview with local outlet PMNews Malta about his life, he did not at any point recommend anyone attending therapy to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. Not invited to take.

However, he was critical of Maltese law, and described how he came to believe that homosexuality was not an identity, but a practice that was incompatible with his faith. them later prosecution order He was summoned to the court last month, and faces another hearing on June 9.

Police reports were also filed against the journalists who conducted the interview, Mario Camilleri and Rita Bonnici. He is facing a separate legal battle, one he recently told Fox News Digital that “goes against our fundamental right to free speech.”

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Journalists Mario Camilleri and Rita Bonnici are facing criminal charges after interviewing them about the life of Matthew Grech. (PMNews Malta)

Agius, who previously served as head of the Human Rights and Integration Directorate in Malta, was involved in the criminalization of conversion therapy in the country, which was the first in Europe to ban the practice in 2016.

According to the Times of Malta, Malta recently added an amendment to redefine the advertising clause to include “the publication, advertisement, display, distribution, referral and circulation of any material promoting the practice”. Strengthened its conversion therapy ban law.

When Grech made headlines in her home country in 2018 for telling her story as a contestant on The X Factor Malta, Agius – whose current responsibilities as cabinet expert under Dalli include “inclusion, equality and non-discrimination” – called Grech’s comments “problematic”.

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A clip of Grech on The X Factor Malta was reportedly pulled from Facebook and YouTube in the country, and the television program later issued an apology for airing his views.

The European Commission headquarters lit up in the colors of the rainbow flag to support the International Day Against LGBT in Brussels, Belgium, May 16, 2020. Malta ranked first in the Rainbow Europe Country Ranking of Most LGBT-Friendly EU Countries that year. (NurPhoto/Contributor via Getty Images)

In 2013, when he was working as director of policy for the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), Agius told the BBC that Germany would allow third genders on birth certificates. The alternative doesn’t “go far enough.”

Grech told Fox News Digital that he believes it is “barbaric” to bar consenting adults from treating unwanted sexual feelings in conversion therapy and that LGBT activists should be able to enter churches and receive pastors and evangelical ministers. Using them to gain a foothold. Shut up and conform.”

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The Malta LGTBIQ Rights Movement did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.