(AP) – Comedian Stephen Fry is among those supporting a British man appealing his conviction for tweeting that he would blow up an airport if his flight was canceled.

Paul Chambers became an Internet free-speech cause celebre when he was fined in 2010 for using Twitter to make his comment about Robin Hood Airport in northern England.

Chambers’ high-profile supporters include Fry and British comedian Al Murray. Both accompanied Chambers to court Wednesday for an appeals hearing.

Chambers insists he was joking, but a court convicted him of sending menacing or offensive messages. His lawyer argued that by that measure, William Shakespeare could have been convicted for quipping, “Let’s kill all the lawyers.”

One judge responded Wednesday: “That was a good joke in 1600 and it is still a good joke now.”