Chris Lange, FISM News
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A British court has awarded a well-known Christian evangelist $11,000 in compensatory damages for two unlawful detainments at London’s Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner, the largest free-speech platform in the world.
Hatun Tash, who is the director of the ministry Defend Christ Critique Islam (DCCI), was twice arrested for publicly critiquing the Qur’an and Islam. She was represented by the U.K.-based Christian Legal Center in challenging the arrests.
London’s Metropolitan Police (MPS) admitted that it “fell below standards” in a formal apology to Ms. Tash.
“I have considered the background to your claim and am satisfied that on these occasions the level of service did fall below the requisite standard,” MPS Inspector Andy O’Donnell, Directorate of Professional Standards, Civil Actions Investigation Unit, wrote in the apology.
“I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to you for the distress that you have suffered as a consequence of these incidents,” O’Donnell continued. “I hope that settlement of this claim and this recognition of the impact of what happened will enable you to put these incidents behind you.”
Tash, who has amassed a YouTube following of 700,000, was taking part in a weekly debate at the Speakers’ Corner on May 23, 2021, when she was “abused and harassed” by a group of Islamic men who were reportedly angered that she was wearing a t-shirt depicting Mohammed, according to a press release from Christian Legal Center.
Police officers at first told the men to leave, but they continued to harass Tash while telling officers to “go away,” according to the statement. The officers then told Tash that she must leave the park, threatening to arrest her if she disobeyed the directive.
Disturbing video footage of the incident reviewed by FISM showed officers putting their hands on the diminutive Tash as they began to forcibly remove her from the scene. One officer can be heard shouting, “Don’t argue with me, or you will be arrested,” to which Tash replied, “I haven’t broken any law.” As the Islamic men continued shouting, Tash was loaded into a police van.
An officer who stayed behind confirmed Tash’s arrest to the crowd, after which one bystander said that it wasn’t the first time the Christian evangelist had been arrested for speaking, adding that he believed she was “assaulted” on the first occasion. Another man can be heard challenging the officer over Tash’s detainment.
“What makes her, wearing that shirt, a breach of the peace?” he demanded.
“That comes to trouble,” the officer replied before other voices drowned him out.
Tash was held in police custody for 24 hours before she was released.
“Instead of dealing with the threats and intimidation, the police chose to arrest Miss Tash for ‘breaching the peace’ and then she was further arrested under section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986,” Christian Legal Center said.
“Just because it was believed that it was operationally necessary to arrest our client, that is not what should have happened. The police should have protected her free speech by bringing more officers to Speakers Corner to facilitate her rights. It follows that her safety would have been protected.”
Following news of the arrest, the Free Speech Union wrote to then-MPS Commissioner Cressida Dick, calling on her “to train your officers to avoid acting in a way that is incompatible with free speech rights.”
Two months later, in July 2021, Miss Tash was stabbed in front of police at the same location by a man dressed in a “black Islamic robe,” according to a report by The Spectator. No arrests have been made.
The police also apologized for wrongfully arresting Tash in December 2020 at the Speakers’ Corner. In this instance, officers cited coronavirus regulations for her detainment after she pleaded with them not to block another preacher’s right to free speech.
Tash, who donated her legal payout to the Christian Legal Center, said that she is “very concerned by the approach the police [have] been taking at Speakers’ Corner.”
“The police have repeatedly taken away my rights and told me that they cannot protect me because they do not want to offend a certain group of people, which has been very disturbing,” she continued.
“I believe Jesus Christ is the good news for Muslims, the police, and the world. Police need to protect my rights as I tell others this good news. My hope is that many Muslims will come to faith in Jesus.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said, “This payout to Hatun is a rare admission by the police that they got it wrong.”
“Hatun is a fearless and passionate woman who loves Jesus and who has love and compassion for people from all backgrounds who she debates with and wants to reach with the gospel, which has transformed her life,” she continued. “If Hatun is silenced by violence at Speakers’ Corner, we are all silenced.”