A Christian free speech campaigner was arrested in Belgium this week after displaying a sign calling for the protection of children against so-called puberty blockers.

Lois McLatchie Miller who works for ADF International (Alliance Defending Freedom) was arrested in Brussels alongside a Canadian activist known as @BillboardChris .

Ms McLatchie Miller was holding a sign which read ‘Children are never born in the wrong body’, @BillboardChris who describes himself as a ‘human male who protects his kids from gender ideology’ was holding a sign with the words ‘Children cannot consent to puberty blockers’. 

Posting on social media site X, he said they had chosen to call the police after being surrounded by people protesting at their stance: ‘4 police vans and about 14 police showed up. I guess they thought it was easier to take care of us than the angry mob, so we were taken to a police station — after refusing to remove our signs and walk away — and told we were being charged with what translates as causing a disturbance of the peace. We were then handcuffed and transported to another police station. All of our possessions were taken and logged, I had to strip down to my underwear for a search, and we were put into jail cells.’

The pair who were in the EU capital to discuss the dangers of puberty blockers with members of the European Parliament, were released from custody several hour later and no charges were filed.

Describing their treatment as ‘an abuse of authority and state-sanctioned censorship’ they say they are now ‘looking at legal options.’

Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, said: “The Belgian authorities not only failed to uphold the fundamental right to speak freely, they turned the power of the state against those who were peacefully exercising their rights at the behest of a mob.

“This is the type of authoritarianism we challenge in other parts of the world, and it’s deeply disturbing to see it here in the very heart of Europe."