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(Stockholm) Sweden's highest court on Tuesday acquitted a Pentecostal pastor accused of hate speech for having denounced homosexuality as a ``cancerous tumor'' in a sermon.

Ake Green's contentious sermon in 2003 was protected by freedom of speech and religion under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Supreme Court said in a 16-page ruling.

Green, 64, became the first clergyman convicted under Sweden's hate crimes legislation when a lower court found him guilty of inciting hatred against gays. An appeals court overturned the ruling earlier this year, but Sweden's chief prosecutor appealed the acquittal at the Supreme Court.

Green said the Supreme Court ruling was a relief both for him and for other preachers.

"This means we can continue to speak the way we have, and therefore it feels very good that they have ruled in a way that there should not be any infringement in our way of preaching," he told Swedish public radio.

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The case attracted widespread international attention, with some religious groups saying a conviction would be a threat to freedom of religion and speech. Others said an acquittal would open the door to fiercer attacks against Jews, Muslims and gays.

"We will now, unfortunately, experience a growing religious agitation from right-wing extremist Christian groups who use the church as a forum to spread their message of hate,'' said Soren Andersson, chairman of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Rights.

The ruling was handed down as the government was releasing new statistics showing an increase in hate crimes, especially those aimed at gays. The government report shows that in 2004 homophobic crimes increased by 117 percent over the previous year, continuing a trend going back 5 years.

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The government report shows that in 2004 homophobic crimes increased by 117 percent over the previous year, continuing a trend going back 5 years.

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But maybe you agree with me that a good thing to come from this is to remove any ammunition from the Fundamentalists who will say that hate crimes legislation threatens their free speech. Maybe it's possible that had the conviction been upheld that the Fundamentalists would have "rallied" around that and incidents directed at gay and lesbian people may have risen anyways.