{"id":312446,"date":"2024-05-17T12:42:07","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T17:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=312446"},"modified":"2025-06-19T23:59:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T04:59:05","slug":"us-government-agency-condemns-uk-prayer-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/us-government-agency-condemns-uk-prayer-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"US government agency condemns UK silent prayer arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(ADF UK<\/a>) A U.S. federal government commission has called out the unjust arrest of a silently praying Christian in Birmingham, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, in its annual international report.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was established as part of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), which mandates that U.S. policy includes condemning violations of religious freedom abroad and assisting foreign governments to protect this fundamental human right. Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2024\u00a0<\/span>annual report<\/span><\/a>\u00a0highlighted the high-profile arrest of Vaughan-Spruce as an example of European governments \u201ctargeting individuals for their peaceful religious expression\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Responding to the news, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce said:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Arresting individuals for silent prayer has put Britain in a position of global embarrassment. Nobody should be criminalised for their mere thoughts \u2013 this is a basic principle of a liberal democracy. If we can\u2019t get that right at home, how are we meant to uphold human rights on the world stage?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I was searched, arrested, put in a police van, charged and placed on trial for a \u201cthoughtcrime\u201d \u2013 for peacefully and imperceptibly praying outside an abortion facility. With support from ADF UK, I was fully vindicated in court \u2013 but my case isn\u2019t a one-off. The Home Office can prevent my arrest from recurring by clarifying in their upcoming guidance that, while we all condemn harassment, freedom of thought and consensual conversation must remain free.<\/em><\/p>\n

Arresting individuals for silent prayer has put Britain in a position of global embarrassment. Nobody should be criminalised for their mere thoughts \u2013 this is a basic principle of a liberal democracy.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Arrested for a \u201cThoughtcrime\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested twice in 2023 for silently praying in a \u201cbuffer zone\u201d in Birmingham. A Public Spaces Protection Order had been installed by local authorities to ban all expressions of \u201capproval or disapproval\u201d of abortion on the streets near an abortion facility. In what is widely thought to be the first \u201cthoughtcrime\u201d case in 21<\/span>st<\/span>\u00a0Century Britain, Vaughan-Spruce was charged even though she had prayed imperceptibly and not expressed any opinion outside of her own mind.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Catholic priest, Father Sean Gough, was also charged for holding a sign within a buffer zone reading \u201cpraying for free speech\u201d. Both were tried at Birmingham Magistrates Court and fully acquitted of all charges with legal support from ADF UK, after the prosecution were able to offer \u201cno evidence\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two further individuals \u2013 Adam Smith-Connor and Livia Tossici-Bolt \u2013 will face trial later this year after both being charged with breaching \u201cbuffer zones\u201d on separate occasions in Bournemouth.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Adam Smith-Connor, like Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, prayed silently in his head. Livia Tossici-Bolt, a long-term crisis pregnancy support volunteer, held a sign reading \u201c<\/span>Here to talk, if you want\u201d.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch Isabel\u2019s second arrest, sparking the condemnation of the US Commission, below:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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