{"id":41593,"date":"2024-02-27T11:30:48","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T10:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/?p=41593"},"modified":"2025-06-27T10:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T08:52:10","slug":"police-settle-case-brought-by-christian-pastor-they-tried-to-forbid-from-commenting-on-any-other-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case","title":{"rendered":"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"41593\" class=\"elementor elementor-41593\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-20b37b23 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"20b37b23\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-259251b0\" data-id=\"259251b0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5035244d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5035244d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b> Christian leader receives settlement from police who wrongfully tried to ban him from criticising alternative worldviews, such as atheism and Islam<\/b><\/li><li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b> Avon &amp; Somerset Police concede their restrictions on expression were \u201cdisproportionate\u201d after successful challenge backed by ADF International and the Free Speech Union<\/b><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4694899d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4694899d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>BRISTOL (27 February 2024)<\/b> \u2013 Avon &amp; Somerset Police Force have conceded their restrictions on free speech were \u201cdisproportionate\u201d after unlawfully censoring Christian leader, Dia Moodley, a Bristol-based pastor and father of four.<\/p><p>The police force had issued a warning notice to Moodley, who has engaged in occasional street evangelism for the past five years, which forbade him from, inter alia, \u201cpassing comments on any other religion or comparing them to Christianity\u201d and \u201cpassing comments on beliefs held by Atheists or those who believe in evolution\u201d.<\/p><p>A claim for damages was backed by ADF UK and Free Speech Union, who instructed solicitors from Ai Law.<\/p><p>\u201c<i>It isn\u2019t for the police to decide which religions or worldviews can be free from criticism. When I preach, I am committed to speaking about the good news of Christianity in love, grace, and truth \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t mean that I will never say something that others may disagree with. The nature of a free and democratic society is that we can speak publicly about our beliefs.<\/i><\/p><p>Thankfully, with support from ADF UK and the Free Speech Union, I have received some measure of justice after having been wrongfully silenced by authorities. But this creeping culture of censorship is detrimental to all of us in society, whatever we believe, and we must challenge it wherever we see it,\u201d commented Dia Moodley, who successfully challenged police after they forbade him from speaking freely about his Christian beliefs \u2013 and comparing them to other religious views \u2013 in public.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2e0892e2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2e0892e2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">A breach of free speech<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7cb29bf4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7cb29bf4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Moodley had initially reached out to the Avon &amp; Sommerset Police Force after being the victim of several incidents of racial abuse, at the advice of Bristol-based charity Stand Against Racism and Inequality. Officers began to regularly attend Moodley\u2019s public preaching in order to protect both the pastor and his congregation.<\/p><p>In October 2021, Moodley arranged a meeting with the neighbourhood police force in order to maintain good working relations. However, at this meeting, the pastor was served with the warning notice, which he refused to sign.<\/p><p>In addition to forbidding criticism of religions other than Christianity, the warning notice further encroached on Moodley\u2019s right to freedom of expression by banning him from \u201cdelivering a sermon or religious address at a time or place that has not had prior consent and approval of Avon &amp; Somerset Constabulary.\u201d<\/p><p>Backed by ADF International and the Free Speech Union, Moodley successfully challenged the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police for discrimination on religious grounds and for breaching his ECHR rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom of expression; and freedom of assembly and association.<\/p><p><b>Commenting on the case, Bryn Harris, Chief Legal Officer for the Free Speech Union, said:<\/b> \u201cThe state does not hold a monopoly on truth and the ability to discuss and debate ideas, including religious ideas, is the lifeblood of any genuinely free society. Yet, repeatedly, we see this principle violated by unaccountable police officers and local councils who aggressively pursue their own ideological causes rather than using scarce public resources to tackle real crime.\u201d<\/p><p><b>Upon receiving news of the settlement, Jeremiah Igunnubole, Legal Counsel for ADF UK, said<\/b>, \u201cDia Moodley\u2019s case exposes a clear double standard in British policing when the issue concerns the expression of core beliefs; particularly Christian beliefs. Bristol authorities unabashedly requested prior review of Dia\u2019s sermons and banned him from speaking about any other religion \u2013 including atheism. This blatantly restricted his freedom of religion and speech in an attempt to redefine established British values in accordance with their own ideals.<\/p><p>Whilst we welcome the police force\u2019s admission that their actions were disproportionate, it is crucial that t<i>he laws permitting such flagrant violations of freedom of speech are urgently addressed to prevent the need for Dia and others like him from being embroiled in years of legal proceedings only to defend what should have instantly been recognised as their lawful, peaceful and constitutional rights to speak freely in public.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3d3cb388 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"3d3cb388\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e2050ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4e2050ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tImages for free use in print or online in relation to this story only\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-51340e06 elementor-widget elementor-widget-gallery\" data-id=\"51340e06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;aspect_ratio&quot;:&quot;1:1&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;gallery_layout&quot;:&quot;grid&quot;,&quot;columns&quot;:4,&quot;columns_tablet&quot;:2,&quot;columns_mobile&quot;:1,&quot;gap&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:10,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;gap_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:10,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;gap_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:10,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;link_to&quot;:&quot;file&quot;,&quot;overlay_background&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;content_hover_animation&quot;:&quot;fade-in&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"gallery.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery__container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"e-gallery-item elementor-gallery-item elementor-animated-content\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley.webp\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"51340e06\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Dia_Moodley\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NDE1OTQsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNFwvMDJcL0RpYV9Nb29kbGV5LndlYnAiLCJzbGlkZXNob3ciOiI1MTM0MGUwNiJ9\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley.webp\" data-width=\"405\" data-height=\"405\" aria-label=\"Dia Moodley\" role=\"img\" ><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"e-gallery-item elementor-gallery-item elementor-animated-content\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia-Moodley-2.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"51340e06\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Dia Moodley 2\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NDE2MDEsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNFwvMDJcL0RpYS1Nb29kbGV5LTIuanBnIiwic2xpZGVzaG93IjoiNTEzNDBlMDYifQ%3D%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia-Moodley-2-1024x648.jpg\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"648\" aria-label=\"\" role=\"img\" ><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"e-gallery-item elementor-gallery-item elementor-animated-content\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Jeremiah-Igunnubole-200x200-1-1.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"51340e06\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Jeremiah Igunnubole 200x200 (1)\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6MjU4NTAsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyMlwvMDZcL0plcmVtaWFoLUlndW5udWJvbGUtMjAweDIwMC0xLTEuanBnIiwic2xpZGVzaG93IjoiNTEzNDBlMDYifQ%3D%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Jeremiah-Igunnubole-200x200-1-1.jpg\" data-width=\"200\" data-height=\"200\" aria-label=\"\" role=\"img\" ><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"e-gallery-item elementor-gallery-item elementor-animated-content\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Bryn-Harris.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"51340e06\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Bryn Harris\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NDE5MjAsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNFwvMDJcL0JyeW4tSGFycmlzLmpwZyIsInNsaWRlc2hvdyI6IjUxMzQwZTA2In0%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Bryn-Harris-830x1024.jpg\" data-width=\"830\" data-height=\"1024\" aria-label=\"\" role=\"img\" ><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christian leader receives settlement from police who wrongfully tried to ban him from criticising alternative worldviews, such as atheism and Islam Avon &amp; Somerset Police concede their restrictions on expression were \u201cdisproportionate\u201d after successful challenge backed by ADF International and the Free Speech Union BRISTOL (27 February 2024) \u2013 Avon &amp; Somerset Police Force have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":41615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[736],"tags":[1205,908,909,898],"class_list":["post-41593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-dia-moodley","tag-freedom-of-speech-en-gb","tag-religious-freedom-en-gb","tag-uk-en-gb"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d - ADF International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Christian leader receives settlement from police who wrongfully tried to ban him from criticising alternative worldviews, such as atheism and Islam Avon &amp; Somerset Police concede their restrictions on expression were \u201cdisproportionate\u201d after successful challenge backed by ADF International and the Free Speech Union BRISTOL (27 February 2024) \u2013 Avon &amp; Somerset Police Force have [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ADF International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-27T10:30:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-27T08:52:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philipp Bues\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philipp Bues\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Philipp Bues\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141\"},\"headline\":\"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-27T10:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-27T08:52:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case\"},\"wordCount\":739,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"dia moodley\",\"freedom of speech\",\"Religious freedom\",\"UK\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case\",\"name\":\"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d - ADF International\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-27T10:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-27T08:52:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp\",\"width\":405,\"height\":405},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/\",\"name\":\"ADF International\",\"description\":\"Protecting Fundamental Freedoms. Promoting Inherent Dignity.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Alliance Defending Freedom International\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png\",\"width\":175,\"height\":106,\"caption\":\"Alliance Defending Freedom International\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adfintl\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/adfinternational\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/adfinternational\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141\",\"name\":\"Philipp Bues\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Philipp Bues\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/author\/pbuesadfinternational-org\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d - ADF International","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d","og_description":"Christian leader receives settlement from police who wrongfully tried to ban him from criticising alternative worldviews, such as atheism and Islam Avon &amp; Somerset Police concede their restrictions on expression were \u201cdisproportionate\u201d after successful challenge backed by ADF International and the Free Speech Union BRISTOL (27 February 2024) \u2013 Avon &amp; Somerset Police Force have [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case","og_site_name":"ADF International","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational","article_published_time":"2024-02-27T10:30:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-27T08:52:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":405,"height":405,"url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Philipp Bues","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adfintl","twitter_site":"@adfintl","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philipp Bues","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case"},"author":{"name":"Philipp Bues","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141"},"headline":"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d","datePublished":"2024-02-27T10:30:48+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-27T08:52:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case"},"wordCount":739,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp","keywords":["dia moodley","freedom of speech","Religious freedom","UK"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case","name":"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d - ADF International","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp","datePublished":"2024-02-27T10:30:48+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-27T08:52:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Dia_Moodley_1.webp","width":405,"height":405},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/police-settle-in-censorship-case#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Police settle case brought by Christian pastor they tried to forbid from \u201ccommenting on any other religion\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/","name":"ADF International","description":"Protecting Fundamental Freedoms. Promoting Inherent Dignity.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization","name":"Alliance Defending Freedom International","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png","width":175,"height":106,"caption":"Alliance Defending Freedom International"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational","https:\/\/x.com\/adfintl","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/adfinternational","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/adfinternational\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141","name":"Philipp Bues","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","caption":"Philipp Bues"},"url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/author\/pbuesadfinternational-org"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}