A former British military reservist will face a Nov. 16 trial on prison expenses arising from a silent prayer close to an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, England, a British courtroom mentioned Wednesday.

Adam Smith-Connor in November stood silently together with his head bowed and his again to the clinic on Ophir Road within the coastal resort city. He was initially fined £100 ($127.32 U.S.) however later was criminally charged with breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order that lined the clinic and surrounding space.

Mr. Smith-Connor pleaded not responsible throughout Wednesday’s listening to at Poole Magistrates’ Court.

Outside the courthouse, Mr. Smith-Connor broke down in tears throughout his assertion, saying “stood silently” close to the power and “did not approach anyone [and] did not speak to anyone.”

He mentioned he's a 20-year British military reservist who served in Afghanistan and is “being prosecuted for a thought crime.” He vowed to attraction his case “as far as we can, to the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary.”

Rachael Clarke, chief of workers on the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which operates clinics throughout the nation, mentioned Mr. Smith-Connor’s motion wasn’t as harmless as he claims.

“This is essentially a stunt designed to provoke arguments in this way because ultimately, he is not a local person” within the Bournemouth space, Ms. Clarke mentioned in a phone interview. “He is not doing it because he believes that this is what he needs to do. He’s chosen to go there because he knows there is a local ban on it.”

The British Parliament in March enacted a regulation authorizing related “safe access zones” round abortion amenities nationwide, a transfer critics declare establishes “censorship zones.” Ms. Clarke mentioned the regulation has “not yet come into force.”

Callum Miller, a analysis fellow on the University of Oxford’s Blackfriars Hall, mentioned the nationwide regulation and native ordinances such because the one overlaying the Bournemouth clinic are addressing an issue that doesn’t exist.

Where governments within the United Kingdom and Ireland have investigated the conduct of protesters close to abortion clinics, “in the overwhelming majority of cases, it has been completely peaceful, lawful, often silent activity. Harassment is already illegal in the U.K. and was illegal before these censorship zones were bought in,” Mr. Miller mentioned in an interview.

According to a press release from the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which enforced the safety order for the clinic and charged Mr. Smith-Connor, mentioned he “without reasonable excuse … failed to leave the required area.”

He was issued the tremendous a couple of month after the incident, mentioned attorneys at ADF UK, a public curiosity regulation agency defending Mr. Smith-Connor.

The authorized group mentioned council officers issued the prison cost in opposition to Mr. Smith-Connor on May 12, shortly earlier than a window to file expenses closed, however didn't notify him of the fees till July 19.

An ADF UK legal professional mentioned that delay might be grounds for a courtroom to dismiss the case as a result of the regulation requires defendants to be notified of expenses “as soon as possible.”

Jeremiah Igunnubole, an ADF UK authorized counsel who was in courtroom Wednesday with Mr. Smith-Connor, advised The Washington Times in a phone interview the delay in notification might be thought of “an abuse of process” by the courtroom, which is able to hear arguments on the authorized factors of the case Nov. 2.

“Perhaps the more weighty matter is the fact that Adam was informed by police officers a week before the encounter in question that his action of standing motionless in one place, praying silently, was not an offense in England,” Mr. Igunnubole mentioned. “There’s a serious contradiction here between what the police on the one hand told him unequivocally and what the council are now seeking to prosecute him for.”

The ADF UK legal professional mentioned Mr. Smith-Connor had “a legitimate expectation that his actions were perfectly legal,” solely to have council enforcement officers later tremendous him and the council itself file prison expenses.

Mr. Igunnubole mentioned this case — the third such motion in Britain this yr — raises the specter of “thought crime” prosecutions in different areas.

“Once you introduce content-based criminal prosecutions based on what somebody is thinking, then there really is no logical endpoint,” he mentioned. “Because anything, any viewpoint that goes against the prevailing norms of society today, may well change to something else tomorrow.”

Asked for touch upon the case, a council spokesperson mentioned through e mail, “Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, the Council is unable to make a further statement in relation to this matter.”

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