A Swiss man is choosing prison over paying a fine after courts punished him for comments on social media about biological sex.
Emanuel Brünisholz, who repairs wind instruments in Burgdorf, announced that he will serve 10 days behind bars beginning in December rather than hand over hundreds of francs to the state.
The case began nearly three years ago when Brünisholz replied to a Facebook post by Swiss National Council member Andreas Glarner.
In his response, he wrote: “If you dig up LGBTQI people after 200 years, you’ll only find men and women based on their skeletons. Everything else is a mental illness promoted through the curriculum.”
That remark was quickly flagged by activists, who reported it to police as incitement to hatred under Article 261bis, the country’s anti-discrimination law.
What was once a narrowly tailored rule to stop racist propaganda has, since 2020, been extended to cover “sexual identities.”
According to local media, this expansion opened the door for Brünisholz’s prosecution. On August 15, 2023, local police interrogated him, demanding to know his intent.
When asked what he meant by his post, he answered: “Well, that those who think there’s not just man and woman, I want to tell them that there’s only man and woman.”
As reported by Reduxx, asked about his opinion of the “LGBTQI” community, he said: “Nothing, absolutely nothing. It’s an extremist bunch. They want to silence me.”
Authorities concluded his statement demeaned LGBT individuals and thus violated human dignity.
He was fined 500 Swiss francs, with the penalty convertible into jail time if unpaid. After he contested the order, the Regional Court of Emmental Oberaargau reaffirmed the guilty verdict in December 2023 and added another 600 francs in court fees.
Instead of complying, Brünisholz declared he would not pay. On September 19, 2025, he posted an image of his summons from the Bernese Office of Justice Execution alongside the words: “It’s happening. On December 2, I’m going to prison for 10 days!”
For many, the imprisonment of Brünisholz marks a warning: laws originally intended to prevent genuine hatred are now being used to punish unpopular speech and suppress scientific discussion.
The line between protecting minorities and criminalizing dissent has all but vanished.
