Christian preacher challenges arrest for protesting Islam
from Christian Concern:
Tomorrow at the High Court, a Christian preacher will appeal a ruling which upheld his arrest outside Southwark Cathedral for displaying placards which protested against Islam in the wake of terrorist attacks.
Following one complaint from a member of the public, Ian Sleeper, 57, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, was surrounded by four officers and arrested on 23 June 2017 for displaying signs which read: “Love Muslims, Hate Islam, Jesus is love and hope.”
Mr Sleeper maintains, and explained clearly to officers at the time, that he was “not attacking people; I’m attacking an idea.”
Weeks earlier, on 3 June 2017, on London Bridge and at Borough Market, which is adjacent to where Mr Sleeper was protesting, Islamic terrorist attacks had taken place, killing eight people and injuring 48.
For holding the signs, Mr Sleeper was arrested under Section five of the Public Order Act for causing harassment, alarm and distress; and allegedly causing “religious and racial aggravation.”
The arrest was captured on police body cam footage.
The footage reveals officers saying: “The issue we have got with this is that Islam is not a religion of terror, the terrorists make it a religion of terror … you can’t display this … it’s committing an offence … under a criminal law, you cannot display this.”
Mr Sleeper, who was calm and polite throughout the exchange, disagreed with the officer and said that under human rights law he could display the sign.
The officer continued, however: “I’ll tell you the reason why we are here. Someone has come to us and they have complained. And when that happens it becomes a police criminal matter. Because what they have said you have put on [the sign] is not right … it breaks the law.”
The officers said they were going to: “take [the placards] off you and I’m going to rip it up because you are not allowed to show this.”
Mr Sleeper was arrested and held by the police for 13 hours in a cell. He was then released on bail and then banned from entering the London Borough of Southwark for over six months. Charges against him were subsequently dropped.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
