The Nürnberg Defense

You might have heard the expression: "I Was Just Following Orders" in defense for something that a person has done that are violating basic human rights. Lawful superior orders often known as the Nürnberg defense is a plea in a court of law that a person, whether a member of the army or a civilian, not to be held guilty for actions which were ordered by a superior officer or a public official.

One thing that differs democracies from dictatorships is that democracies allows it's citizens to have a freedom of conscience in such circumstances as mentioned above. The freedom of conscience and Religion is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Even Russia has freedom of conscience for healthcare professionals. I'm sad to say that their Swedish collegues don't have that freedom. And why should other countries listen to our politicians and organizations in democracy issues when we can't live up to basic human rights issues as freedom of conscience for our own citizens? 

"Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom & no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech." - Benjamin Franklin, 1722.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good