Germany and Austria recently affirmed something the UK hasn’t: peaceful prayer is a right, not a crime. Courts in both countries have said yes to peaceful prayer gatherings after authorities tried to ban prayer vigils near abortion facilities.
Judges made it clear that freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion don’t disappear just because a public space is considered “sensitive.”
In Regensburg, Germany, police tried to enforce 100-metre “buffer zones” to stop people from peacefully praying. With ADF International’s support, a prayer group challenged this restriction, and the court struck it down.
Similarly, in Vienna, Austria, police tried to ban a planned prayer vigil by ‘Youth for Life,’ a group of young pro-life advocates. The court overturned the ban, affirming that peaceful prayer is a form of lawful assembly and cannot be excluded from public space on religious grounds.
Taken together, these court decisions send an important message across Europe: public spaces are not reserved for one worldview, and authorities don’t get to ban peaceful citizens from public spaces just because they disagree with their religious expression.
Now, compare these decisions with what is happening in the UK, where peaceful citizens have been arrested and criminally charged for silently praying near abortion facility “buffer zones.”
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was back in court last week in Birmingham, England, facing criminal charges for nothing more than praying in her mind. This comes even after winning her previous case and receiving a payout from the police for two prior unjust arrests. We are coordinating her legal defence.
Hear from our Legal Counsel, Jeremiah Igunnubole, after last week's hearing.
For years, Isabel has stood quietly on a public street in Birmingham, praying. She doesn’t speak. She doesn’t approach anyone. And yet, authorities continue to target her.
Then there’s Adam-Smith Connor — the first person in modern British history to be convicted for his thoughts when he was praying silently near an abortion facility in Bournemouth, England.
Adam stood with his back to the facility, careful not to disrupt anyone. But a local regulation banned prayer as an “expression of approval or disapproval of abortion.” In his case, authorities argue that the ban also applies to silent prayer. With our legal support, Adam is appealing his conviction.
This is happening in a country that calls itself free.
The UK would do well to look to the rulings in Austria and Germany. Ultimately, a society cannot call itself free if it doesn’t uphold the basic right of every person to peacefully live out their faith in public.
We have the privilege — and the responsibility — of defending those who suffer violations of their rights to conscience for upholding the sanctity of human life, and those who suffer violations of their rights to free expression for their pro-life views.
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