Woman who held “here to speak, if you want to” sign out of the abortion clinic guilty of violating the bearing area
A anti-abortion activist was stated in violating a clinical area of abortion in Bournemouth In a process “monitored” by Trump officials.
Livia Tossici-Bolt, 64, was Accused of having violated an order of protection of public spaces Out of the Dorset clinic in two days in March 2023 holding a sign that says: “Here to speak, if you want”.
Elderly US The officials took the extraordinary step of weigh up to a row As for his judicial procedure, warning: “We are worried about the freedom of expression in the United Kingdom”.
An office within the United States Department of State said it was carefully monitor the case And the relationships said that the question had even entered the commercial negotiations of the United Kingdom and the United States, although the commercial secretary Jonathan Reynolds insisted on the fact that freedom of speech had not been part of the tariff negotiations with the United States.
On Friday he was sentenced to the court of the magistrates of two accusations of violation of the order of protection and sentenced to a conditional discharge for two years. She was ordered to pay £ 20,000 for judicial expenses and a supplement for victims of £ 26.
The district judge Orla Austin said that Tossici-Bolt had “deeply detained”, but his rights of freedom of expression pursuant to article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Echr) had to be balanced against women’s rights who frequented the clinic and his personal.
He said: “I accept that the accused has committed himself to the conduct at the base of this case as part of a honestly motivated desire to participate in that position and show his signs outside the clinic, encouraging the conversation in relation to issues of particular importance for her.
“This does not mean that his belief for not having left the area when requested would be disproportionate, nor give rise to a reasonable excuse of the facts of this case.”
He added the accused “lacks intuition that his presence could have a harmful effect on women who attend the clinic, their collaborators, the staff and members of the public”.
Rosalind Comyn, defending, said that there is no evidence that the toxic-boet has been observed by any service of the service or that any damage has been caused by its behavior.
After the hearing, Tossici-Bolt said it was “a dark day for Great Britain” and promised to continue fighting for freedom of speech.
“I wasn’t protesting and I didn’t harass or hindered anyone,” he said. “Everything I did was to offer a consensual conversation in a public place, as well as my fundamental right, yet the Court told me guilty.
“Freedom of expression is in a state of crisis in the United Kingdom. What happened to this country?
“The United States Department of State had reason to be worried about this case as it has serious implications for the entire western world”.
However, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) said that the case “never concerns global policy”, but instead women are able to access legal health care without harassment.
Bpas’ CEO, Heidi Stewart, said: “Bournemouth’s clinic was subjected to decades of anti-abortion protests, which brought over 500 harassment reports before this safe access area was put into force.
“This case has never concerned global policy, but the simple ability of women to access legal health care without harassment.
“It is up to the police and the judicial system to determine if people have broken the law.”
The advice of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP), which brought the accusation pursuant to the antisocial behavior, of the law on crime and policies 2014, accepted the sentence. A spokesman said that the buffer area was issued in 2022 so that patients and staff can access the clinic “without fear of intimidation”.
A trial last month felt that the activist refused to pay a fixed penalty notice after being accused of violating the protection order, claiming that he had the right to offer consensual conversations pursuant to the Human Rights Act.
In a declaration published on X this week, the office of democracy, human rights and Labor (Drl) said: “US-UK relationships share mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“However, as Vice President Vance said, we are worried about the freedom of expression in the United Kingdom.
“While recently in the United Kingdom, Senior Drl consultant Samson met Livia Tossici-Betborn, who faces criminal accusations to offer a conversation within a legally prohibited” buffer area “in a clinic for abortion.
“We are monitoring his case. It is important that the United Kingdom respects and protects freedom of expression.”
Lord Sister, a former judge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, accused the Trump administration of “unjustifiable interference” on the comments.
Tossici-Bolt welcomed the intervention of the United States and said that his judicial proceeding was an “extreme example” of censorship, adding: “Great Britain should be a free country, but I was dragged through the court simply for offering a consensual conversation. I am grateful to ADF International for supporting my legal defense.
“Pacific expression is a fundamental right: nobody should be criminalized for harmless offers to converse.”
The pro-Vita manager added: “I am deeply saddened that the United Kingdom is seen as an international embarrassment when it comes to freedom of speech.
“My case, which involves only a simple invitation to speak, is only an example of the state of extreme censorship and undeniable in Great Britain today.”
Lorcan Price, legal consultant for the ADF International freedom campaign group, who supports Tossici-Bott, said: “We are used to seeing this type of diplomacy to happen with countries that have authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. It is reassuring to create the crisis of censorship in the United Kingdom has become so extreme that it is now necessary here.
“Livia’s criminal proceeding for simply offering salient points of consensual conversation in a particular way that freedom of speech is becoming an important contest between the United States and the United Kingdom.
“If the United Kingdom continues to abandon freedom of speech, it is now clear that there will be no” special relationship “. We are grateful to the United States for having involved diplomacy to promote the fundamental right of freedom of expression in this country.”
