Christian pastor convicted for preaching bible near abortion clinic to appeal 'dangerous' free speech ruling

A Christian pastor who was convicted after preaching the Bible near an abortion clinic has launched an appeal against the ruling.

Clive Johnston, 78, from Strabane, Northern Ireland, was convicted after preaching the Bible near Causeway Hospital in Coleraine in July 2024.

On May 7, he was convicted for violating the country's Safe Access Zone laws, accused of attempting to "influence" someone - despite the fact Mr Johnston did not directly reference abortion.

It marked the first instance of someone being prosecuted for preaching a sermon which did not mention abortion.

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He is also being supported by the US Department of State, who have called the case an "egregious violation" of Mr Johnston's "fundamental rights".

After his intent to appeal, Mr Johnston said: "This ruling sets a deeply troubling precedent. I was not protesting abortion.

"I was peacefully preaching the Gospel, reading from the Bible, and pointing people to the hope found in Jesus Christ.

"If this conviction is allowed to stand, it will signal that basic Christian witness and public expressions of faith can be criminalised simply because they take place in the wrong location.

"That should concern every person who values freedom of religion and freedom of expression, regardless of their views on abortion."

Mr Johnston, a grandfather of seven, delivered a short open-air sermon on John 3:16 "for God so loved the world" within 100 metres of a hospital on the day he was arrested.

Legislation introduced in 2022 in Northern Ireland created eight 100 metre to 150 metre buffer zones around hospitals and abortion clinics to separate patients and staff from protesters.

It is a criminal offence for people to be "impeded, recorded, influenced or to be caused harassment, alarm or distress", within the buffer zones.

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Both sides and judges accepted Mr Johnston did not mention abortion in court, but he was found guilty of being "reckless" by preaching the Bible and standing near a cross.

He received a £450 fine in the ruling - which he described as a "a very dark day for Christian freedom".

The Christian Institute’s Simon Calvert said the case put Briton's fundamental freedoms at risk.

He said: "This case was never about harassment or intimidation - nobody has alleged Clive Johnston engaged in anything close to this form of behaviour. It is about whether the state can criminalise the peaceful expression of Christian faith in a public place under abortion buffer zones laws

"The implications of this dangerous ruling reach far beyond one individual pastor in Northern Ireland. If public authorities can prosecute someone for reading the Bible and preaching on God’s love, then fundamental freedoms are at risk."

He has also been supported by lawmakers and evangelical figures who have raised concerns over religious freedoms.

Riley Moore, US Representative for West Virginia, said: "This is part of what Bishop Barron calls the 'soft persecution' in the West at the hands of increasingly aggressive secular culture."

Franklin Graham, a prominent preacher from North Carolina said: "Religious freedoms are being threatened not only in the UK, but here in the US, Canada, and around the world."

And Ulster MP Carla Lockhart from the Democratic Unionist Party said the ruling was a "very sad day for Northern Ireland".

Mr Johnston's legal team will argue the conviction is a "disproportionate interference with fundamental rights", including his freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of peaceful assembly.

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