{"id":64959,"date":"2024-11-21T17:56:36","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T16:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/?p=64959"},"modified":"2025-06-13T14:25:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T12:25:38","slug":"international-body-to-rule-on-case-of-canadian-man-who-spent-time-in-prison-for-holding-sign-outside-abortion-facility-almost-30-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/jim-demers","title":{"rendered":"International body to rule on case of Canadian man who spent time in prison for holding sign outside abortion facility almost 30 years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"64959\" class=\"elementor elementor-64959\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-294e7fba elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"294e7fba\" 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-5cd96205\" data-id=\"5cd96205\" 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-1eea1654 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1eea1654\" 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><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jim Demers was criminally convicted and spent almost two months in prison in 1996-97 for holding a sign quoting the American Convention on Human Rights: \u201c<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Every person has the right to have his life respected\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With no recourse left in Canada, Demers filed for redress with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2004 and has waited twenty years for justice.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ADF International now representing Demers after 20-year wait: \u201c<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As we grapple with the spread of censorship across the globe, this case presents an opportunity for a key human rights watchdog to reassert the very rights they were established to defend\u00bb<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/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-52c4f5e elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"52c4f5e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"911\" height=\"595\" src=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Demers.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-64965\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Demers.jpeg 911w, https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Demers-300x196.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Demers-768x502.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 911px) 100vw, 911px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\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-2431fc49 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2431fc49\" 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><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>WASHINGTON, DC<\/b> (21 November 2024) Jim Demers, a lifelong resident of British Columbia, Canada, was criminally convicted and spent almost two months in prison in 1996-97 for standing silently on a public sidewalk outside of an abortion facility. He held a sign quoting Article Four of the American Convention on Human Rights: \u201c<i>Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception.\u201d<\/i>\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Demers was standing in a censorship zone around the facility, which bans expression critical of abortion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Demers was criminally convicted for his peaceful expression, for which he was given a suspended sentence of two years, subject to the condition of not returning to the public area surrounding the abortion facility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">After failing to obtain redress from the Canadian Supreme Court, Demers took his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2004. The Commission admitted his case in 2006, but almost 20 years later, has yet to rule. \u202fIn the face of this egregious failure to deliver timely justice, ADF International assumed representation of Demers. \u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>\u201c<\/i><i>I hope I&#8217;m never silent when bad things are happening, and I hope nobody else is silent either when bad things are happening. <\/i><i>I have dedicated my life to speaking out in defense of the unborn, and because of this, I was criminally convicted and even spent time in jail,\u201d <\/i>said Demers. \u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>\u201cI have waited for almost 20 years for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to rule on my unjust conviction over the exercise of my freedom, and that of all people, to stand up, speak truth, and defend those that cannot defend themselves. I am grateful to ADF International for its efforts to bring this ordeal to an end. I will continue to advocate for the right to life of every person and look forward to the day when I can speak up without fear of criminal prosecution and punishment in Canada.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>\u201cAll human rights are in peril when the fundamental right to free speech is ignored,\u201d<\/i> stated <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/our-team\/tomas-henriquez\">Tom\u00e1s Henr\u00edquez<\/a>, lead lawyer on this case for ADF International. <i>\u201cFor peacefully expressing his pro-life views on a sidewalk outside of an abortion facility, Jim Demers was convicted as a criminal and forced to spend time behind bars with serious felons. Even if you disagree with Jim\u2019s beliefs, everyone should defend his right to voice them without fear of criminal prosecution and imprisonment. Now is the time for the Inter-American Commission to exercise its authority to deliver justice for Jim.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/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-dc0a6d3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"dc0a6d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;hosted&quot;,&quot;controls&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-hosted-video elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<video class=\"elementor-video\" src=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/V1-Jim-Demers-Reel-2-square.mp4\" controls=\"\" preload=\"metadata\" controlsList=\"nodownload\"><\/video>\n\t\t\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-8a14f37 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8a14f37\" 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><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cAll human rights are in peril when the fundamental right to free speech is ignored.\u201d<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Demers stood outside of an abortion facility in Vancouver, British Columbia before Christmas of 1996, holding a sign quoting Article Four of the American Convention on Human Rights. The Access to Abortion Services Act of British Columbia, in force to this day, establishes so-called \u201cbubble zones\u201d around abortion facilities, creating a censorship zone that bans free expression. Notably, the law imposes viewpoint discrimination, as it only penalizes expressions that are critical of abortion, but not others. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Demers stood silently on the sidewalk outside of the main entrance, never engaging verbally or otherwise with any member of the public or of the abortion facility, or impeding entrance to the facility in any way.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For this peaceful expression, Demers was arrested, placed in jail pending trial for seven weeks, alongside violent criminals, and was ultimately convic<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ted on criminal charges.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Demers filed a petition against Canada in 2004 with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The Commission agreed to rule on the merits of his case in 2006 as to whether it was lawful to use criminal sanctions against Demers for his peaceful expression. Almost twenty years later, the Commission has yet to decide his case, in what is perhaps the most egregious case of alleged backlog at any international human rights body.\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cADF International is proud to stand with Jim as he seeks justice in his case at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The Commission has slept on Jim\u2019s case for almost 20 years. We call on the Commission to rule decisively that these actions by Canadian authorities violated Jim\u2019s fundamental right to freedom of speech,\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Henr\u00edquez continued.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cBoth international law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee the fundamental right to freedom of expression. As we grapple with the spread of censorship across the globe, this case presents an opportunity for our human rights watchdogs to reassert the very rights they were established to defend.\u201d<\/span><\/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-24aa4a89 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"24aa4a89\" 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-de66b99 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"de66b99\" 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>Images for free use in print or online in relation to this story only.<\/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-44faa44c elementor-widget elementor-widget-gallery\" data-id=\"44faa44c\" 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\/11\/Jim-Demers-2.jpeg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"44faa44c\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Jim Demers 2\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NjQ5NzUsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNFwvMTFcL0ppbS1EZW1lcnMtMi5qcGVnIiwic2xpZGVzaG93IjoiNDRmYWE0NGMifQ%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\/11\/Jim-Demers-2.jpeg\" data-width=\"613\" data-height=\"854\" 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\/11\/Jim-Demers-1.jpeg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"44faa44c\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Jim Demers\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NjQ5ODAsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNFwvMTFcL0ppbS1EZW1lcnMtMS5qcGVnIiwic2xpZGVzaG93IjoiNDRmYWE0NGMifQ%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\/11\/Jim-Demers-1.jpeg\" data-width=\"911\" data-height=\"595\" 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\/11\/Jim-Demers-3-scaled.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"44faa44c\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Jim Demers 3\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NjQ5ODUsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNFwvMTFcL0ppbS1EZW1lcnMtMy1zY2FsZWQuanBnIiwic2xpZGVzaG93IjoiNDRmYWE0NGMifQ%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\/11\/Jim-Demers-3-1024x683.jpg\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"683\" 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\/2021\/05\/Tomas-Henriquez_400x400.webp\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"44faa44c\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"Tomas Henriquez 400x400\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NDM2NjAsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGZpbnRlcm5hdGlvbmFsLm9yZ1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyMVwvMDVcL1RvbWFzLUhlbnJpcXVlel80MDB4NDAwLndlYnAiLCJzbGlkZXNob3ciOiI0NGZhYTQ0YyJ9\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-gallery-image elementor-gallery-item__image\" data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Tomas-Henriquez_400x400.webp\" data-width=\"400\" data-height=\"400\" 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<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-25c2290 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"25c2290\" 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-9af6e8d\" data-id=\"9af6e8d\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap\">\n\t\t\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>Jim Demers was criminally convicted and spent almost two months in prison in 1996-97 for holding a sign quoting the American Convention on Human Rights: \u201cEvery person has the right to have his life respected\u201d\u00a0 With no recourse left in Canada, Demers filed for redress with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2004 and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":64965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[487,1132,1012,1236,1239,1235,223],"class_list":["post-64959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-canada","tag-free-expression","tag-freedom-of-expression","tag-inter-american-commission-on-human-rights","tag-jim-demers","tag-organization-of-american-states","tag-tomas-henriquez"],"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>Canadian man spent time in prison for holding sign outside abortion facility<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jim Demers was criminally convicted and spent almost two months in prison for 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