Turns out that the United Kingdom is looking at 1984 more like an instruction manual these days.
This week, it has convicted a British Army vet for the crime of praying silently outside an abortion clinic.
(For real.)
Out-of-control stabbings are one thing, but I guess the British police draw the line at wrongthink.
Adam Smith-Connor served 20 years in the Army Reserves, including a tour in Afghanistan, and went from fighting the Taliban to being convicted in his own country for religious thoughtcrimes. That's one heck of a career pivot.
According to Alliance Defending Freedom (IDF) International, despite the silence of his prayer, his clasped hands and bowed head were sufficient to demonstrate "disapproval of abortion," opening him up to charges under the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) designed to combat "anti-social behavior," including "buffer zones" near abortion facilities, with the British Parliament voting to roll out these zones around every abortion facility in England & Wales as part of the Public Order Act of 2023.
Yes, really.
And this isn't the first time the law has been used to go after people who prayed silently:
In this case, Smith-Connor was given a two-year conditional discharge, as well as an order to pay almost $12,000 in court fees.
Note: Hamoud Al Soaimi, who was convicted of "three counts of sexual assault and one assault by penetration" as part of a grooming gang case earlier this year, was given a two-year suspended sentence and 180 hours unpaid work.
"Today, the court has decided that certain thoughts - silent thoughts - can be illegal in the United Kingdom. That cannot be right," Smith-Connor said, according to ADF International.
Smith-Connor added:
All I did was pray to God, in the privacy of my own mind - and yet I stand convicted as a criminal? I served for 20 years in the army reserves, including a tour in Afghanistan, to protect the fundamental freedoms that this country is built upon. I continue that spirit of service as a health care professional and church volunteer. It troubles me greatly to see our freedoms eroded to the extent that thoughtcrimes are now being prosecuted in the UK.
The local authorities — despite "battling bankruptcy warnings" and cutting "all non-essential spending" — poured over $115,000 into this case.
"This is a legal turning point of immense proportions," said Jeremiah Igunnubole, Legal Counsel for ADF UK. "A man has been convicted today because of the content of his thoughts — his prayers to God — on the public streets of England. We can hardly sink any lower in our neglect of basic fundamental freedoms of free speech and thought. We will look closely at the judgment and are considering options to appeal. Human rights are for all people — no matter their view on abortion."
Politician Mirian Gates had this to say:
This isn't 1984, but 2024 — nobody should be on trial for the mere thoughts they hold in their mind. It's outrageous that the local council are pouring taxpayer funding into prosecuting a thoughtcrime, at a time where resources are stretched thin. Buffer zone regulation are disproportionately wide, leaving innocent people vulnerable to prosecution merely for offering help, or simply holding their own beliefs.
Politician Sir Edward Leigh offered similar thoughts:
It is disgraceful that in Britain in 2024 someone can be put on trial for praying silently in his head. Unfortunately we have seen repeated cases of free speech under threat in the UK when it comes to the expression of Christian beliefs. To offer a prayer silently in the depths of your heart cannot be an offence. The government must clarify urgently that freedom of thought is protected as a basic human right.
Hold on to your First Amendment, Americans, because free thought (let alone free speech) is dead in Europe.
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