All cases
School Chaplain Reported to Terrorist Watchdogs after Giving a Sermon on Christian Values Sues School
May 8, 2021, United KingdomTrent Colleges' school chaplain Reverend Dr Bernard Randall held a sermon at the schools chapel in June 2018, in which he encouraged students to respect and debate upon 'identity beliefs' and 'identity ideology'. Rev Dr Randall was afterwards reported to the governments' anti-terrorist unit 'Prevent' and forced out of his job. The school claimed that the sermon was "harmful to LGBT+" Students, and Rev Dr Randalls views were extremist. The former chaplain is now taking Trent College to court for unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment and victimization. A hearing is awaited for June 14, 2021.
Finnish Bishop-Elect Charged for 'Hate Speech' for Editorship of Booklet on Homosexuality in 2004
May 4, 2021, FinlandThe designated bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, Dr Juhana Pohjola, has been charged for 'incitement to hate speech against a certain group of people' by the Finnish Attorney General's Office. Similarly to the case of Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen, the reason for the charges placed against Dr Pohjola is his editorship of a booklet published by the Luther Foundation Finland (ELMDF) in 2004 and written by Räsänen. Beforehand, all charges have been dropped by the Helsinki Police because they could not identify any broken law by the booklet since same-sex marriage was only legalised in Finland in 2017.
Finish MP Charged for Hate Speech After Bible Post on Twitter About Human Sexuality
April 29, 2021, FinlandMP Pävi Räsänen is facing three criminal charges for alleged hate speech brought against her by the Finnish Prosecutor General. This is not the first time MP Räsänen is being investigated for hate speech by the police but the first time she is confronted with criminal charges. The medical doctor, mother of five, and grandmother of six is accused of having engaged in “hate speech” for publicly voicing her opinion on marriage and human sexuality in a 2004 pamphlet, for comments made on a 2018 TV show and, most recently, a tweet directed at her church leadership. The Prosecutor General considers that Räsänen's statements are likely to cause intolerance, contempt and hatred towards homosexuals. The charges will be heard later at the Helsinki District Court.
Pastor Arrested In Greater London for Public Preaching on Biblical Marriage
April 23, 2021, United KingdomPastor John Sherwood, the pastor of a church in North London, preached a sermon on a public street on 23 April, in which he advocated for the biblical image of the family consisting of a father, mother and children and that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. After a while, some police officers appeared on the scene, approached Pastor Sherwood and stated that three complaints had been received about the sermon. After a lengthy conversation between the pastor and the police officers, the police officers asked him to come down from the steps where he was standing and said that he was now under arrest. The police accusation was that Pastor Sherwood had made homophobic remarks. An officer then took the Bible from the pastor's hand, pulled him off the steps and handcuffed him behind his back. The pastor was arrested for causing alarm and distress under section 5 of the Public Order Act, according to police. The preacher was detained by the police for about 21 hours, and he is still under investigation after his release.
Two Pastors Arrested After Outdoor Worship Service
April 11, 2021, FinlandOn April 11 of 2021, two Christian pastors were arrested and detained for over 4 hours during an outdoor worship service, which was interrupted by the police due to Covid-19 regulations. A few dozen people of the Baptist-affiliated “home church” (Kottikirko) gathered on a large and spacious square for their public worship, being the fifth Sunday running that the Christian group gathered in the same place for the same purpose.
Polish Anarchists Hung A Vulgar Banner On A Church In Warsaw
March 31, 2021, PolandFar-left groups in Poland are proud to show themselves profaning the Church of the Holy Saviour in the centre of Warsaw on social media. Local anarchists lit flares in front of the entrance to the temple and hung a banner with vulgar inscription on the scaffolding. The assault took place on the afternoon of March 31st. The far-left in Poland seems to enjoys an impunity. This is evidenced by the minimal reaction of the judiciary to the series of provocations, desecrations and attacks carried out against Catholic churches since October 2020. According to the TVP Info portal, the recent attack did not cause any material losses, and no one was physically harmed. Nevertheless, the series of incidents strongly accentuated the symbolic dimension of these acts.
Controversial Hate Crime Bill In Scotland Ratified By Parliament
March 11, 2021, United KingdomOn March 11th, the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood resolved the new Hate Crime Bill with the consent of 82 to 32 votes. The bill intends to "make provision about an offense of racially aggravated harassment, to make provision about offenses relating to stir up hatred against a group of persons, to abolish the common law offense of blasphemy and for connected purposes." Critics now fear that due to the new legislation many who do not intend hate speech could be reported to the police because of it. Moreover, it contradicts the freedom of expression which fundamentally belongs to a free democracy.
Debate On Banning "Conversion Therapies" In Westminster Hall
March 8, 2021, United KingdomMPs in Westminster Hall debated a petition calling for the criminalisation of "conversion therapy" in England and Wales on March 8th. The government has indicated that it considers "conversion therapy" to be extremism. Christians in the UK fear that the criminalisation could restrict religious freedom, which is why the Evangelical Alliance now wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, saying that the ban could "place church leaders at risk of prosecution" but also limit the freedom of people seeking pastoral advise in this matter. It is possible that the LGBT activists deliberately chose a small format in Westminster Hall to avoid opposition in parliament.
Christian NHS Director and Judge Loses His Appeal Against Being Fired Over Expressing His Traditional View On Family
February 26, 2021, United KingdomRichard Page, NHS director and judge, has lost his appeal after being dismissed and now wants to take his case to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal had ruled last Friday that his dismissals were lawful after Page said in a television interview in 2016 that children grow up best with a mother and a father. At the time, Page, who is now 74 and from Kent, was presiding over an adoption case and said he was discriminated against because of his Christian beliefs on parenthood. Since then, he has been fighting decisions to remove him from his positions and is supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC).
'No-Protest-Zones' Around Abortion Clinics Demanded in Edinburgh
February 24, 2021, United Kingdom"Buffer zones" around abortion clinics are to be introduced in Edinburgh to prohibit pro-life activists from standing and praying around the clinics. The buffer zones are initiated by a campaign of university students called "Back off Scotland", who got supported by the city council's policy committee. The campaign group repeatedly called for 150-meter "no protest zones" outside the entrance to Chalmers Street Sexual Health Centre after a survey showed that pro-life protests outside the clinic made the majority of women feel uncomfortable. The pro-life activists say their aim is to support women to make a different choice and the wrong allegations towards them are neither supported by Police Scotland, NHS Lothian nor the council itself.
Irish Bishop Banned By Twitter For Criticising Euthanasia
February 20, 2021, IrelandAfter criticising the Irish government's plans to legalise euthanasia, Twitter has banned the Irish bishop Kevin Doran on February 20th. In his tweet, he spoke out about the Christian dignity in dying, paradoxically Twitter argues "he violated their rules by promoting (..) suicide or self-harm" because the tweet mentioned the term "Assisted Suicide" in it, which he opposes. According to writer David Quinn, Twitter has turned the bishop down on appeal.
Christian Actress Sues After being Fired for Biblical Facebook Post, Court Rules Against Her
February 18, 2021, United KingdomIn March 2019, Christian West End actress, Seyi Omooba, was removed from a leading role in a musical and dropped from her agency for a Facebook post about homosexuality citing the Bible over four years earlier. With representation by the Christian Legal Centre, she launched a legal challenge on September 30th against Leicester Curve Theatre and her agency, Global Artists, for breach of contract and anti-Christian discrimination.On November 25th, the judge rejected arguments from Seyi Omoobas lawyers that the theatre critic, Lloyd Evans should be allowed to give evidence in her claim. The trail of Omooba's religious discrimination and breach of contract claim is scheduled to run for 11 days next February. After the last ruling of the court she was offered a compensation which she reclined arguing that it was disproportional. In its latest decision the court ruled against the actress.
Facebook Page of Core Issues Trust (CIT) Taken Down
February 18, 2021, United KingdomIn February, Facebook permanently deleted the page of Core Issues Trust (CIT) on the grounds that the charity is in breach of its community standards. Since June 2020, LGBT activists have viciously attacked the site and refused to recognise people who previously identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. During this time, Facebook did not respond to the attacks against CIT and its employees, even though their personal safety was at risk. Now Dr. Mike Davidson, CEO of CIT, wrote a statement on the case in which he makes clear to continue to platform "the voices of those who with free conscience express the transformation they experience and the Christian convictions that are important to them and protected by Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights".
25% of UK Pro-Life Students Attacked at their University New Survey Finds
February 11, 2021, United KingdomFor being pro-life, almost one of four students have been "threatened, abused, alarmed or distressed" at their university. According to a survey by the national student pro-life group, the Alliance of Pro-Life Students (APS), nearly three quarters of pro-life students have been confronted with situations in seminars where they experienced a restriction in freedom of expression. APS Executive Director Madeline Page said: “These statistics are alarming, yet confirm what we already know – pro-life students are being marginalised and silenced at universities. Institutional policies which refuse to allow certain topics to be discussed don’t just damage free speech – they destroy a culture of tolerance and respect on campus, ruining the chance for all students to engage with people of diverse opinions and understandings."
Radical Feminists Attacked Austrian Platform For Christian Democracy With Paint
February 8, 2021, AustriaOn February 8th, radical feminist groups disrupted a solidarity rally, in front of the Polish embassy in Vienna, of the Platform for Christian Democracy. The Platform demands an end to the discrimination against people with disabilities and therefore wanted to demonstrate its support for the new amendment of the Polish abortion law, which denies abortion on the ground of eugenics. After interrupting the march, the perpetrators smeared the Platforms' office walls with radical feminists and insulting slogans, reading "fundamentalists abort them". The Platform filed a complaint at the police who is investigating.
ADF International and Pro-Life Prayer Group Challenge Public Prayer Prohibition at Court
February 3, 2021, GermanyIn 2019, the local authority of Pforzheim, Germany, prohibited the assemblies of the "40 Days for Life" group that was peacefully and silently praying in front of an abortion advisory center. The group's concern is to pray for women struggling with abortion and for their unborn children and to offer them support. The legal human rights organization ADF International is now challenging the prohibition in court, in order to ensure that the group's fundamental rights to freedom of religion, assembly, and speech will be reinstalled.
Protestant Mayor Charged for not Willing to Bless Homosexual Couples
December 24, 2020, FranceFranck Meyer, evangelical mayor of a small town in Normandy, Sotteville-sous-le-Val, has now been accused by two LGBT associations. The evangelical mayor, president of the Protestant Committee for Human Dignity (CPDH), declared that he would not bless a marriage "between two men or two women" out of fidelity to his religious convictions. He called for a "conscience clause", as exists in the case of infant baptism or for doctors who oppose abortion, but which does not apply to elected representatives. For the lawyer of the two LGBT associations, Franck Meyer's remarks constitute "discrimination committed by a person with public authority in the course of his functions". Meyer vehemently contradicted this in a press release on 17 December: "I therefore formally deny the accusations of discrimination made against me and consider that they amount to a defamatory denunciation. "
Cambridge University's Proposed Free Speech Policy Allows the Disrespect of Views You Don't Agree With
December 15, 2020, United KingdomIn its plan to alter the existing statement on freedom of speech, the University of Cambridge said people must be "respectful" of "differing opinions" and "diverse identities". However, more than 100 scholars and senior staff quickly objected, saying the “authoritarian” proposals could threaten academic freedom. Their amendment to change the phrase ‘respectful` to ‘tolerate’ was voted on by members of the University’s governing body and won “by a landslide”.
Update: Four Christian Preachers Sue Police After Brutal Arrest and Won the Appeal
December 7, 2020, United KingdomOn December 7th, four christian preachers, known as 'the Bristol Four', are accusing the Avon and Somerset Police for their brutal arrest (assault, false imprisonment and infringement of their Human Rights). Mike Overd, Don Karns, Mike Stockwell and AJ Clarke have made considerable claims against the police. The case raises important concerns about the right to freedom of speech, and the freedom of Christian preachers in the UK to express their religious beliefs and have the right to gather in public.
New Bill In Scotland: Saying 'Men Can't Become Women' Could Be Considered A Hate Crime
December 1, 2020, United KingdomOn December 1st, Scotland's Justice Secretary has affirmed that regarding to SNP's hate crime bill, one could be prosecuted for stating that men cannot be woman. The Hate Crime and Public Order Bill (Scotland) was intended to criminalize expressions and attitudes perceived as "abusive" and aimed at "inciting hatred" against particular groups. However, in return it restricts freedom of speech and lacks it's sufficient protection.