Footballer Joey Barton has said he will "gladly go to jail" to defend freedom of speech after it emerged he could be in legal trouble over the John Terry case.
The Queens Park Rangers
midfielder risked landing himself in hot water on Friday when he posted
comments online about Terry ahead of his trial for allegedly racially
abusing Anton Ferdinand.
During an hour of tweeting, Barton made clear his support for team-mate Ferdinand.
He also criticised the length of time it has taken to deal with the
Terry case, claiming the delay had left England the "laughing stock of
world football".
After airing his views, he added: "I'll probably get a letter now from 'the powers that be.'
"If you're reading this don't bother........."
Staff working for Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC confirmed Barton's tweets are being examined.
Today, Barton returned to the micro-blogging website and defended his comments.
"I will gladly go to jail for a month, in the name of free speech. I
have no problem with what I said. Make me a martyr...," he wrote.
"What are they going to do put everyone who exercises freedom of speech in jail? They'll be a revolution, if they try that ****"
Terry, who was stripped of the England captaincy on Friday, denies the charge.
He is due in court on July 9, just days after Euro 2012 finishes.
A spokesman for the Attorney General said: "I can confirm the tweets have been brought to our attention and have been viewed."
The Attorney General is the Government's senior law officer whose
remit includes ensuring defendants facing criminal allegations receive a
fair trial, which covers comments made about defendants while court
proceedings are under way.
Judges may impose fines or jail sentences of up to two years if a person is found guilty of contempt.
http://news.sky.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
You can comment here...