A Christian street preacher who was arrested for displaying a controversial sign that read “Love Muslims, Hate Islam, Jesus is Love and Hope” outside Southwark Cathedral has lost his legal challenge, with a High Court judge ruling that his detention was not unlawful.
Ian Sleeper, 56, was arrested on 23rd June 2017 after being accused of causing “harassment, alarm, and distress,” suspected to be a religiously aggravated public order offence. He was detained in police custody for 13 hours before being released on bail, with no criminal charges brought against him.
At the time of his arrest, Sleeper was holding two signs. One read: “#Love Muslims, Hate Islam, Jesus is Love + Hope,” while the other stated: “Love Muslims, Ban Islam, the Religion of Terror.” Sleeper claimed that his protest was a response to the terrorist attacks earlier that month.
On 3rd June 2017, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks, carried out by Islamist extremists, killed eight people and injured 48. The attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people at Borough Market. The attacks were attributed to Islamist ideology, and the police later revealed that the attackers had been inspired by radical views, raising fears of further violence and public disorder.
Sleeper argued that his protest was aimed at highlighting the threat posed by Islamic extremism in light of the June terrorist incidents. He sought legal action against the police, claiming wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, and a breach of his human rights. After losing his initial case, he appealed the decision to the High Court, insisting that his right to protest had been unlawfully infringed upon.
Justice Sweeting, who presided over the appeal, ruled that the arrest and detention were lawful, and there had been no violation of Sleeper’s human rights. The judge suggested that the sentiments expressed on Sleeper’s signs could have incited public disorder, justifying the police’s actions.
“The basis for the arrest was not confined to the possibility of harm coming to Mr. Sleeper himself but extended to the potential risk to ‘other persons’ as a result of public disorder,” Justice Sweeting explained in the ruling.
While the court found that the police had acted within their legal rights, Sleeper contended that his protest had been unfairly targeted, arguing that Islamic ideology was responsible for the violence during the June 2017 attacks. He also criticised the perceived inconsistency in how the police had handled protests in London, particularly in the wake of recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations, which he argued had not faced the same level of scrutiny.
“Recent events in London following the conflict in the Middle East have exposed that anyone protesting Israel and calling for violence would not be treated as I was by the police,” Sleeper said.
Sleeper will appeal the ruling with the support of Christian Concern.
