KOSICE, Slovak Republic — The Centre for Bio-ethical Reform Europe filed suit Thursday in the highest court of the Slovak Republic after police put an end to a peaceful pro-life rally that was held in full compliance with domestic law. CBR Europe, represented by attorney Dr. Alan Bohm and Alliance Defense Fund attorneys, held its “Stop Genocide” rally to inform people about the atrocities of genocide, including abortion, but Slovak police asserted the
signs displayed by participants were too graphic for the general public.
“Christians and other pro-life advocates should not be discriminated against and silenced for expressing their beliefs and making people aware of the truth,” said Europe-based ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, co-counsel in the case. “Apparently, the police decided that they didn’t want people to be faced with the unexaggerated reality of what abortion looks like. The signs were completely legal and simply displayed various images of human atrocities, including what goes on behind closed doors in abortuaries around the world.”
“Americans should not imagine that this type of government speech control only occurs overseas,” Kiska added. “ADF fights these types of battles in the U.S. all the time. But if the Constitutional Court in the Slovak Republic rules this police intervention legal, it will be yet another ruling that activist judges could point to in the future as a sort of precedent that U.S. courts should follow.”
Police in the eastern Slovakian town of Kosice ended CBR Europe’s peaceful protest with no legal justification, as both the time and place of the campaign rally were fully within the law. The primary contention from the officers involves the signs CBR Europe used during the demonstration, which displayed photos of aborted children and other images of genocide and human rights abuses. ADF attorneys argue that police violated the freedom of expression rights of the group’s members under both Slovak and European Convention law.
Barrister Brunno Quintivalle of the United Kingdom is also assisting with the case,
Centre for Bio-ethical Reform Europe v. Slovak Republic.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org