A 78-year-old retired pastor has been convicted and fined for preaching a gospel sermon near a hospital in Northern Ireland.
“Naturally, I was deeply saddened by the verdict,” Clive Johnston told Fox News Digital.
“At 78 years old, I never imagined I would leave a courtroom with a criminal conviction for preaching the Christian gospel. But beyond the personal impact, my overriding concern is what this says about the state of fundamental freedoms in our nation.”
On May 7, District Judge Peter King at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court convicted Johnston of breaching a “safe access zone” outside Causeway Hospital in Coleraine on July 7, 2024.
Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act prohibits “influencing,” “preventing or impeding access,” or “causing harassment, alarm or distress” to a protected person within 100 meters (about 328 feet) of facilities where abortions are performed.
Johnston was found guilty of “influencing” inside the protected zone and fined 450 pounds, or about $614 in American money.
He may be the first person prosecuted under the law for preaching a sermon that did not mention abortion, according to the faith-based advocacy group, the Christian Institute, which supported his legal case.
Johnston warned that convicting a person for publicly preaching one of the most well-known Bible passages sets a troubling precedent for religious liberty and free speech in the United Kingdom.
“It effectively redefines peaceful Christian witness as a form of unlawful ‘influence’,” he told Fox News Digital. “If simply reading the Bible, praying, and preaching on God’s love can now be considered harmful because someone might overhear it within a certain area, then we have crossed a very serious line.”
“John 3:16 is one of the most well-known and hope-filled verses in the Bible – a message about God’s love and salvation. If even that can be criminalized because of where it is spoken, then how can any public expression of Christian belief be truly safe from restriction?” he asked.
Johnston isn’t the only Christian who has been prosecuted under similar buffer zone laws. Scottish grandmother Rose Docherty was arrested twice for holding a sign offering conversation in a protected zone before charges were dropped.
Others in the UK have been charged and fined for silently praying in these zones.
Johnston argued the law is too broad and puts Christians at risk of government overreach.
“Once the state claims the authority to decide that peaceful biblical preaching is an unacceptable ‘influence,’ in some places, the space for Christians to live out and share their faith in public life risks becoming increasingly narrow,” he continued. “And we can go further than faith-related concerns – if an act that doesn’t mention abortion is criminalized, what other acts could fall within the reach of this law?”
Body camera footage of the July 2024 incident shows a police officer approaching Johnston as he preached on the side of a road, warning him that he was in a clearly marked safe access zone and could not film or preach in the area.
“You can say to yourself, in the goodness of my heart, ‘I am coming here to preach the word of God,’” the officer says at one point. “However, if you are reckless, as to the effect that it could have on patients, staff or any protected person, then you may be committing an offense.”
The officer suggested Johnston go inside the hospital’s chaplaincy area if he wanted a “safe area” to give “religious guidance or comfort or help.”
“But while you’re out here in the safe access zone, any act in that area which may dissuade any protected person from availing services, harassment or cause them distress, is an offense,” the officer added.
Johnston is currently considering appealing his conviction.
“The whole point of preaching within the buffer zone was to stand against the chilling effect that these zones have on gospel preaching,” he told Fox News Digital. “My encouragement to fellow Christians is not to give in to fear or discouragement. We have good news to share. We must continue to respond with grace, peace, and courage – never with anger or hostility, but with firm conviction.”
The Christian Institute Director Ciarán Kelly warned of “creeping censorship” in the UK.
“If the ruling stands it will represent a shocking new restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech so we will be helping Clive to consider the options for appeal,” Kelly said in a statement.
Ahead of Johnston’s hearing in April, the US State Department said it was monitoring Johnston’s case.
“The United States is still monitoring many ‘buffer zone’ cases in the UK, as well as other acts of censorship throughout Europe,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Monday. “The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations.”
Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service told Fox News Digital, “The defendant was found guilty and convicted by the court of doing an act in a safe access zone with the intent of or being reckless as to whether it had the effect of influencing a protected person attending the premises; and failing to comply with a direction to leave a safe access zone.”
The office also provided the court judgment outlining how it said Johnston’s actions “amounted to an offense” under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act.
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