A Christian pastor arrested in Bristol, England, in November on suspicion of “incitement to religious hatred” after delivering a street sermon is still awaiting a decision on whether he will face criminal charges, according to a legal advocacy group backing him.
Pastor Dia Moodley, 58, was held for eight hours and released on bail conditions that temporarily banned him from entering the city over the Christmas period.
ADF UK, the UK arm of faith-based legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, is representing Moodley.
The group advocates for religious freedom and freedom of expression and says the pastor’s case reflects what it describes as a broader pattern of policing that risks criminalizing lawful religious expression.
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Pastor Dia Moodley, who has been involved in legal disputes over street preaching in Bristol, speaks with his lawyer in Britain, in this undated photo. (ADF UK)
Although the initial bail restrictions were later revoked, police visited Moodley again in January and invited him for a voluntary interview as they continued to investigate the incident in November.
The case marks the second time he has been arrested for his street preaching, ADF UK said, and follows previous disputes with police over restrictions placed on his public comments about other religions.
“A 58-year-old man was arrested in Broadmead, Bristol, at around 2.30pm on Saturday, November 22, on suspicion of assault by beating and a racially/religiously aggravated public order offence,” police said. “He was later released on bail until the end of December, with the condition that he was not allowed to visit parts of Bristol city centre, including Broadmead. However, these conditions were eventually lifted by a supervisor in mid-December, following protests from the arrested man.”
An exterior shot of Avon and Somerset Police Station in Bristol, England, on September 27, 2017. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
The agency said the man is no longer on bail after being released under investigation in early January, adding that a counter-charge has been registered and investigations are ongoing. No further details about the alleged assault were provided in the statement.
The public order offense cited by the police falls under the Public Order Act 1986.
It is defined by the government in Section 29B as: “A person who uses threatening words or behavior, or displays written material that is threatening, is guilty of an offense if he intends to incite religious hatred by doing so. [or hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation].”
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Pastor Dia Moodley preaches on a street corner in Bristol, where he faced legal challenges over his public ministry, as seen in this undated photo. (ADF UK)
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Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, says Pastor Dia’s arrest for “peacefully commenting on Islam and transgender ideology” shows that police are using public order legislation to impose “de facto blasphemy laws” in Britain.
“This is far from an isolated incident,” Igunnubole said. “It is part of a clear pattern of behavior by Avon and Somerset Police, who for years have attacked Pastor Dia for his peaceful expression in the public square and failed in their duty to investigate serious crimes committed against him by those who objected to his speech.”
