{"id":8831,"date":"2022-07-18T10:56:47","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T10:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adf.uk\/?p=8831"},"modified":"2024-01-26T13:29:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T12:29:26","slug":"public-prayer-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/public-prayer-ban","title":{"rendered":"WIN for Grandmother arrested for prayer walk \u2013 but parts of UK seek to make public prayer ban permanent"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" 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;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">76-year-old Rosa Lalor has successfully overturned her fine after she was arrested for taking a prayer walk near an abortion facility<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" 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;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Liverpool, Bournemouth, Aberdeen councils move to towards permanent prayer ban on public streets<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" 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;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Northern Ireland\u2019s national \u201cbuffer zones\u201d under scrutiny at UK Supreme Court TOMORROW, while Scottish government silences critics of the policy\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>LONDON<\/strong> (18 July 2022) &#8211; Is a silent prayer on a public street a criminal act? Not according to the case of 76-year-old grandmother Rosa Lalor, from Liverpool, who has successfully challenged a penalty given to her while out walking and silently praying near an abortion facility.<\/p>\n<p>When approached by a police officer during the lockdown in February 2021, Lalor had been questioned as to why she was outdoors. She answered that she was \u201cwalking and praying\u201d. The officer responded that Lalor wasn\u2019t praying in a place of worship, and that she did not have a \u201creasonable excuse\u201d to be outdoors at that time. The officer claimed that Lalor was there to \u201cprotest\u201d. The grandmother was arrested, detained, and issued a fine.<\/p>\n<p>Merseyside Police have now conceded that such detention was wrong, and that Lalor was acting within her rights, indeed having a \u201creasonable excuse\u201d to be outdoors praying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m delighted that the prosecution has finally dropped this charge after a long and exhausting battle for justice. I took this challenge forward with support from ADF UK to show that we do all have a fundamental right to pray \u2013 not least pray as I did, in the privacy of my own mind. It was wrong for the police officer to tell me that I could not pray in a public street. It\u2019s important for officers to respect basic religious freedom, and improve their understanding of how that right manifests, in order to maintain a truly tolerant society,\u201d commented Lalor.<\/p>\n<p>But despite the police force deeming Lalor\u2019s actions to be a reasonable excuse under coronavirus legislation, Liverpool council is now seeking to introduce censorship zones to prevent the kind of activity for which Lalor has now received full vindication.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Northern Ireland) Bill to prevent \u201cinfluencing\u201d a person, whether directly or indirectly, within 100m of abortion facilities, will face scrutiny at the UK Supreme Court on 19-20<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0July.\u00a0 The Northern Ireland Attorney General, Dame Brenda King, has referred the bill to the Supreme Court citing concerns that the bill omits a defence of \u2018reasonable excuse\u2019 and is therefore incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Right to Pray Upheld<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Merseyside Police have dropped charges against Lalor on the basis of legal arguments submitted with the support of human rights group, ADF UK.<\/p>\n<p>The police force accepted that Rosa was acting well within her rights to pray whilst she was walking in a public space. They accepted that Rosa\u2019s actions were reasonable and should not be curtailed under coronavirus regulations.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, they accepted that she had a right to pray as protected by Article 9 of the ECHR, which states that everyone has a right to manifest their freedom of thought, conscience and religion, \u201ceither alone or in community with others and in public or private\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to celebrate a victory for Rosa today, but it is deeply regrettable that this law-abiding woman was subjected to distressing, drawn-out criminal proceedings in the first place, no doubt due to her pro-life stance. This follows a worrying trend in law enforcement where individuals are routinely arrested simply because their views are considered to be controversial or offensive,\u201d said Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK, who supported Rosa\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<p>Lalor\u2019s defense also highlighted that police officers cannot arrest an individual based solely on their interpretation of the legitimacy of a particular point of view. Neither can officers express a view about the acceptability of an opinion that is a matter of political and social debate. \u201cThis would amount to viewpoint discrimination,\u201d explained Igunnubole.<\/p>\n<p>Last February, Merseyside Police apologised for wrongly claiming &#8216;being offensive is an offence&#8217; as part of a campaign to encourage people to report hate crime. The force came under criticism after the message appeared on a billboard in Wirral.<\/p>\n<p>It later clarified that while hate crime is an offence, &#8216;being offensive is not in itself an offence&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is now an urgent need for the upskilling of police officers across the country to ensure that they have a proper grasp of the right to freedom of expression and religion as it relates to public order. Law, policy, and training practices must be improved to restore the public\u2019s confidence in policing and stem the trend of unjust arrests. Officers should be prioritising real crimes that concern ordinary people rather than being the agents of cancel-culture,\u201d Igunnubole concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Pro-life prayer group 40 Days for Life also supported Rosa\u2019s case, and welcomed the win and its wider implications for those who pray outside abortion facilities nationwide:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is an important win, because authorities cannot simply decide to censor prayer on the street. We are committed to engaging in prayer because we believe that women and babies deserve far better than abortion, and that we can find solutions to support both lives in a pregnancy. We are always delighted to point women to charities and services where they can receive support to continue their pregnancy, should they want it. We hope that Rosa&#8217;s story sends a clear message that in a democracy, there is space for freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of thought &#8211; and that censorship is a disservice to everyone,&#8221; said Robert Colquhoun, International Director of 40 Days for Life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A permanent ban on public prayer?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Liverpool and Bournemouth councils have recently launched consultations about bringing in the measure, which would prohibit pro-life volunteers from speaking \u2013 including giving offers of financial and practical help to women looking for an alternative option to abortion \u2013 on public streets in the vicinity of abortion facilities. Aberdeen council approved measures to censor public street last week.<\/p>\n<p>In Richmond and in Ealing, where buffer zones have already been implemented, even silent prayer is prohibited in the 150m zone \u2013 a move likely to be copied by other Councils.<\/p>\n<p>In Northern Ireland, new regulations prohibit the act of \u201cinfluencing\u201d within 100m of an abortion facility. The bill\u2019s legitimacy will be scrutinised by the UK Supreme Court on 19th-20th July.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe criminalisation of any kind of \u2018influencing\u2019 is so broad that it could reduce the threshold of criminality to an impermissibly low level. We know from a Home Office Review into the situation that instances of harassment outside of abortion facilities are rare, and when it happens, police already have powers to stop it. Buffer zones introduce a blanket ban on all activity, including offering meaningful charitable help and support to women where they need it most,\u201d said Lois McLatchie, communications officer for ADF UK.<\/p>\n<p>Since the ban was first implemented in Ealing in 2018, mothers who benefited from the offers of help made by pro-life volunteers outside abortion clinics have been campaigning under the banner \u201cBe Here For Me\u201d to end the censorship of such services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u201cWhat kind of society withholds help from vulnerable women? I didn\u2019t want an abortion but I was abandoned by my partner, my friends and society. My financial situation at the time would have made raising a child very challenging. Thanks to the help I was offered by a group outside of a clinic before my appointment, my daughter is here today. My experience is typical of hundreds of others. Refusing charitable volunteers from offering much-needed services and resources for women in my situation is wrong. Let them help,\u201d said Alina Dulgheriu of the Be Here for Me campaign.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Censorship of \u201cbuffer zones\u201d criticism in Scotland<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Scottish government has shown support for rolling out censorial \u201cbuffer zones\u201d across Scotland. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chaired a &#8220;summit&#8221; on the issue last month, inviting campaigners in favour of censorship zones to participate. This support for the policy comes despite the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/human-rights-laws-hinder-abortion-buffer-zones-says-nicola-sturgeon-llrvwhdjf\"> First Minister\u2019s acknowledgement<\/a> that \u201cbuffer zones\u201d raise significant concerns in accordance with human rights law.<\/p>\n<p>When the policy idea was criticised by ADF UK\u2019s Lois McLatchie on BBC Scotland, SNP Spokesperson MP Alison Thewliss called to have the 26-year-old Scot deplatformed from the broadcaster, despite the BBC&#8217;s requirement for balanced coverage under the conditions of the Royal Charter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-container brlbs-cmpnt-content-blocker brlbs-cmpnt-with-individual-styles\" data-borlabs-cookie-content-blocker-id=\"x-alias-twitter-content-blocker\" data-borlabs-cookie-content=\"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\">\n<div class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-preset-b brlbs-cmpnt-cb-x\">\n<div class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-thumbnail\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/borlabs-cookie\/1\/cb-twitter-main.png')\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-main\">\n<div class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-content\">\n<p class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-description\">You are currently viewing a placeholder content from <strong>X<\/strong>. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-provider-toggle\" href=\"#\" data-borlabs-cookie-show-provider-information role=\"button\">More Information<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-buttons\"> <a class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-btn\" href=\"#\" data-borlabs-cookie-unblock role=\"button\">Unblock content<\/a> <a class=\"brlbs-cmpnt-cb-btn\" href=\"#\" data-borlabs-cookie-accept-service role=\"button\" style=\"display: inherit\">Accept required service and unblock content<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;As a Scottish woman, I will not stop speaking out to defend the rights of all people to speak freely. That is why it is so disappointing to see a Scottish MP seek to silence and deplatform me simply because she disagrees with what I have to say. Ironically, she seeks to cancel me because of my views on the censorship of speech on public streets. It is my firm belief that governments must not be allowed to censor public spaces based on their own ideological viewpoints. Apparently, she disagrees. I welcome debate. But ad hominem attacks make our public discourse poorer. Democracy depends on the free and fair exchange of views,&#8221; commented McLatchie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is a silent prayer on a public street a criminal act? Not according to the case of 76-year-old grandmother Rosa Lalor, from Liverpool, who has successfully challenged a penalty given to her while out walking and silently praying near an abortion facility. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[736],"tags":[899,947,898],"class_list":["post-8831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-free-speech-en-gb","tag-rosa-en-gb","tag-uk-en-gb"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>WIN for Grandmother arrested for prayer walk \u2013 but parts of UK seek to make public prayer ban permanent - ADF International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is a silent prayer on a public street a criminal act?Not according to the case of 76-year-old grandmother Rosa Lalor, from Liverpool, who has successfully challenged a penalty given to her while out walking and silently praying near an abortion facility.\" \/>\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\/public-prayer-ban\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WIN for Grandmother arrested for prayer walk \u2013 but parts of UK seek to make public prayer ban permanent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"76-year-old Rosa Lalor has successfully overturned her fine after she was arrested for taking a prayer walk near an abortion facility.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/news\/public-prayer-ban\" \/>\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=\"2022-07-18T10:56:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-26T12:29:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/CAM12212-e1614785203937.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"801\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philipp Bues\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"WIN for Grandmother arrested for prayer walk \u2013 but parts of UK seek to make public prayer ban permanent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"76-year-old Rosa Lalor has successfully overturned her fine after she was arrested for taking a prayer walk near an abortion facility.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/bigstock-Caregiver-And-Elderly-Senior-P-409188646-1.jpg\" \/>\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=\"7 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\\\/public-prayer-ban#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/public-prayer-ban\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Philipp Bues\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141\"},\"headline\":\"WIN for Grandmother arrested for prayer walk \u2013 but parts of UK seek to make public prayer ban permanent\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-18T10:56:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-26T12:29:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/public-prayer-ban\"},\"wordCount\":1540,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"free speech\",\"Rosa\",\"UK\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/public-prayer-ban\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/news\\\/public-prayer-ban\",\"name\":\"WIN for Grandmother arrested for prayer walk \u2013 but parts of UK seek to make public prayer ban permanent - 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