Adam Smith-Connor: UK

Protect freedom of thought | Adam Smith-Connor: United Kingdom

Army vet convicted for committing a “thoughtcrime”

#ThoughtTrials

Topic | Thoughtcrime

Adam – a veteran of the British Army Reserves who served in Afghanistan – became the first citizen in modern British history to be criminalised on the basis of his thoughts for praying silently near an abortion facility.

On 16th October 2024, Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court convicted and sentenced Adam to a conditional discharge and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £9,000. Supported by ADF UK, Adam appealed this decision. The Bournemouth Crown Court is set to hear his appeal on July 28th 2025, two and a half years following the three minutes of silent prayer which sparked legal action.

Adam was sentenced for praying about his own experience, and the son he lost to his decision to pay for an abortion 22 years ago. He was praying also for the men and women facing difficult decisions with regard to abortion that day. He stood with his back to the facility, so as not to be misconstrued as trying to disrupt the privacy of anyone there. But a local regulation banned prayer as an “expression of approval or disapproval of abortion” on that public street. In his case, authorities argue that that ban also applies to silent prayer.

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"It isn’t for the authorities to determine the contents of my thoughts on this matter [abortion], on a public street”

- Adam Smith-Connor

Case summary

A censorship zone or so-called “buffer zone” has been in place in Bournemouth since October 2022. The zone was implemented by local authorities through a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) which criminalises engaging in “an act” or even “attempted act” of “approval/disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means.

This includes but is not limited to “graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counselling” within an area surrounding the abortion facility. The PSPO further prohibits religious acts, including reading scripture, praying or crossing oneself.

Adam refused to pay his fine because he does not believe it can be illegal to pray in a public space in the UK – let alone in the privacy of one’s mind.

We’re supporting Adam’s legal defense because freedom of thought, and freedom of religion, are protected absolutely through the Human Rights Act. The local authority – Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council- therefore has no power to introduce a prohibition on silent prayer.

“In permitting the prosecution of silent prayer, we are sailing into dangerous waters regarding human rights protections in the UK. Censorship zones are inherently wrong and engender unhelpful legal confusion regarding the right to free thought. Both domestic and international law have long established freedom of thought as an absolute right that must not ever be interfered with by the state,” said Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK, the organisation supporting Adam Smith-Connor’s legal defense.

“Surely a silent thought cannot be a crime. With support from ADF UK, I’m pursuing an appeal against my conviction. The government simply cannot be allowed to determine the content of thoughts and prayers.”

Read all about the cases of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce and Father Sean Gough, both of whom were prosecuted for praying silently in their heads in an abortion facility “censorship zone” in Birmingham. Both have been found innocent in court, with the support of ADF UK.