Christian Pastor Targeted Again for Peaceful Speech
Pastor Dia Moodley preaches peacefully on the streets of Bristol, England. For this, he has repeatedly been attacked, threatened, and arrested. Now, he needs your help.
Arrested on Suspicion of "Inciting Religious Hatred".
Pastor Dia’s Case Exposes a Free Speech Crisis
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More InformationPastor Dia Moodley, 58, was arrested by police officers last November in Bristol on suspicion of “inciting religious hatred” under the Public Order Act 1986 for his speech, even though he had merely publicly shared his Christian views.
The pastor, who suffers from a heart condition, was held in a police cell for eight hours before being released under censorial bail conditions banning him from entering and therefore preaching in the city over the Christmas period.
The bail conditions were dropped after Pastor Dia made representations to the police, but two police officers later visited his home on 8 January, questioned him further on the November incident and invited him to a voluntary interview under caution.
Pastor Dia is considering whether to attend the interview. In the meantime, he is waiting to hear whether he will be criminally charged for his peaceful speech.
ADF International is providing legal support as he considers action against the police for violating his free speech rights.
What Happened to Pastor Dia Should Concern Us All
This is the second time police have arrested Pastor Dia for his street preaching.
In March 2024, he was arrested after speaking about the differences between Christianity and Islam and spent 13 hours in a police cell. To make matters worse, police ordered the destruction of his preaching signs. Only after a formal complaint – made with the help of ADF International – did the police apologise.
This incident followed a previous attempt by police to censor Pastor Dia. They had imposed restrictions banning him from “passing comments on any other religion” besides Christianity. Those restrictions were later acknowledged to be “disproportionate” after they were challenged with the support of ADF International and the Free Speech Union.
But this is not all.
In March 2025, Pastor Dia Moodley was again preaching peacefully in the same city, holding a Quran as he spoke about the differences between Christianity and Islam. As he spoke, a large crowd gathered, and several Muslim men took offence. One threatened to stab Pastor Dia, and another tried to punch his wife.
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More InformationThe situation escalated as bystanders attempted to forcibly take the Quran from him. They pushed him off his ladder, pinned him to the ground, and asserted the Quran was theirs, not his.
In response, instead of protecting Pastor Dia, two police officers – on separate occasions – told him he would be arrested for breaching the peace. Shockingly, no details were taken of the men who had assaulted him.
Pastor Dia’s case exposes a free speech crisis in the United Kingdom.
Pastor Dia said: “I am a law-abiding citizen, and it feels surreal that the police have criminalised me so harshly and repeatedly merely for peacefully expressing my Christian views in the public square.
“Unfortunately, I believe that the police view me, a Christian pastor, as an easy target and are afraid of others being offended by my lawful speech. This is two-tier policing in action.”
Legal Counsel for ADF International Jeremiah Igunnubole said: “Pastor Dia’s arrest for peacefully commenting on Islam and transgender ideology shows police are using public order legislation to impose de facto blasphemy laws in the UK.
“This is far from an isolated incident. It is part of a clear pattern of behaviour from Avon and Somerset Police, who for years have targeted Pastor Dia for his peaceful expression in the public square and have failed in their duty to investigate serious crimes committed against him by those who objected to his speech.
The police must stop their two-tier approach of criminalising lawful speech. There has long been a pressing need for Parliament to pass legislation to ensure the right to freedom of expression is robustly protected in this country.”
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Pastor Dia’s case is all the more pressing as the government finalises its broad and ambiguous definition of ‘anti-Muslim hatred’, which risks censoring legitimate speech related to Islam.
Jeremiah Igunnubole
Legal Counsel for ADF UK
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