A man in Switzerland is facing 10 days in prison after refusing to pay a fine for an “offensive” social media post. Emanuel Brünisholz, a wind instrument repairman from Burgdorf, was convicted under anti-discrimination laws for making statement emphasizing skeletal evidence of binary sex.
Brünisholz’s ordeal began in December of 2022 when he responded to a Facebook post by Swiss National Council member Andreas Glarner. In his comment, Brünisholz 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.”
The Bernese judiciary determined that “through his comment published on Facebook, [Brünisholz] has publicly belittled the group of LGBT(Q)I people based on their sexual orientation and in a way that violates human dignity.” He was issued a penal order fining him 500 Swiss francs (approximately $580 USD), convertible to 10 days of imprisonment if unpaid.
Brünisholz raised an objection against the criminal order, and the case ended up in the Regional Court of Emmental – Oberaargau for review. But on December 20, the Regional Court affirmed the guilty verdict against him, and imposed an additional fee of 600 Swiss francs.
Viewing the penalty as an infringement on his right to express a scientific fact, Brünisholz opted out of payment and accepted the jail term. On September 19, 2025, he publicly announced his impending incarceration.
Brünisholz is just the latest individual to be prosecuted for “transphobic” social media posts in a troubling global trend.