An army veteran and father-of-two has spoken of his gratitude to JD Vance for highlighting his conviction for silent prayer in a speech to world leaders wherein the US Vice-President warned that free speech is “in retreat” in Europe.
Adam Smith-Connor was convicted last October of breaching an abortion clinic buffer zone in Bournemouth by praying silently. He was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £9,000.
Addressing world leaders at a security conference in Munich on Friday, Vance drew attention to the 51 yr old’s conviction by saying “perhaps most concerning, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom, where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the fundamental liberties of spiritual Britons, particularly within the crosshairs”.
“Somewhat over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith Connor, a 51 yr old physiotherapist and an Army veteran, with the heinous crime of standing 50m from an abortion clinic and silently praying for 3 minutes, not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own,” said Vance.
Smith-Connor, who’s appealing his conviction, said he was “overwhelmingly thankful” to Vance for raising his plight in front of world leaders.
“Nobody needs to be criminalised for his or her prayers, their mere thoughts,” he said.
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, which is supporting Adam’s appeal, said: “The policing of individuals’s very thoughts in ‘buffer zones’ is probably the most extreme example of censorship across the West.
“While crime festers on the streets of England, it’s unbelievable that police time and resources are focused on criminalising peaceful Christians, who simply wish to pray.
“Nobody can deny that two-tier policing is an issue here; no person can deny that we’re riding roughshod over freedom of speech and of thought.
“I thank VP Vance for issuing this wake-up call to our government – we must restore basic standards of human rights.”
