Pastor Clive Johnston Appeals £450 Conviction for John 3:16 Sermon Near 100-Meter Buffer Zone
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 31
Pastor Clive Johnston Appeals £450 Conviction for John 3:16 Sermon Near 100-Meter Buffer Zone
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 31
Clive Johnston, 78, said Wednesday he has appealed a May 7 conviction for breaching Northern Ireland’s safe access zone law by preaching near Causeway Hospital in July 2024.
A judge found Johnston acted recklessly under the law’s 100-meter buffer zone by preaching and standing near a large cross in a way that could influence people accessing abortion services, fining him £450.
Johnston says his sermon did not mention abortion and only pointed listeners to “the hope found in Jesus Christ,” warning the ruling could criminalize public Christian witness based on location alone.
The Christian Institute, which is backing the case, argues the conviction disproportionately interferes with rights to free speech, religion and peaceful assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights and UK law.
The group says Johnston is the first person prosecuted under the UK law for preaching a sermon unrelated to abortion in a protected zone, making the appeal a wider test of buffer-zone limits.
Is preaching the Bible in public now a criminal act in parts of Northern Ireland?
Where is the legal line between free speech and illegal 'influence' near UK healthcare clinics?