by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - A British police force has agreed to pay damages in settlement of a lawsuit filed by a street preacher whom they ordered to stop making public statements that cast religions other than Christianity in a negative light, CBN News reports.
Dia Moodley, a pastor and evangelist in Bristol, western England, was issued with a "Community Protection" notice by the Avon and Somerset Police Force ordering him to stop “passing comments on any other religion or comparing them to Christianity" and "passing comments on beliefs held by Atheists or those who believe in evolution,” CBN News reports. The notice also banned the evangelist from "delivering a sermon or religious address at a time or place that has not had prior consent and approval of Avon & Somerset Constabulary."
With the assistance of Alliance Defending Freedom UK, Moodley sued the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police for discrimination on religious grounds and for breaching his rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; freedom of expression; and freedom of assembly and association under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Moodley was awarded a settlement after the Avon & Somerset Police Force had accepted that their restrictions on the preacher’s free speech had been “disproportionate” and unlawful.
"It isn't for the police to decide which religions or worldviews can be free from criticism. When I preach, I am committed to speaking about the good news of Christianity in love, grace, and truth – but that doesn't mean that I will never say something that others may disagree with. The nature of a free and democratic society is that we can speak publicly about our beliefs," Moodley said in a statement.
ADF UK added in a press release about the case: “Whilst we welcome the police force’s admission that their actions were disproportionate, it is crucial that the laws permitting such flagrant violations of freedom of speech are urgently addressed to prevent the need for Dia and others like him from being embroiled in years of legal proceedings only to defend what should have instantly been recognized as their lawful, peaceful and constitutional rights to speak freely in public.”