Suspended jail term for man who threatened queen via Twitter

Monday 27 August 2012

A man who 'insulted and threatened' queen Beatrix using the microblogging service Twitter has been given a six month suspended jail term.

The man has also been told that probation officers have the power to order him not to use internet between midnight and 08.00 hours and not to use social media such as Twitter and Facebook, Nos television reported.

The court ruled the man had used Twitter to state hurtful things about the queen, which offended her dignity. The comments could have been considered threatening and hurtful and it is irrelevant whether or not the queen actually read them, the court said.

The court said it had taken into account that the 28-year-old man suffers from Asperger, a form of autism. However, the fact he sent Twitter messages while on probation for earlier offences did weigh against him.

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