The police who arrested a street preacher on the streets of London last month continue to find themselves in hot water as details of the shocking incident emerge. The Metropolitan Police have been forced to backtrack on their original account after it became clear that they did not walk preacher Oluwole Ilesanmi a mere 200 yards down the road as previously claimed, but instead drove him over five miles out of town.
Now, British watchdog group Christian Concern is releasing new evidence that proves the police ferried Olu way out of town, leaving him stranded in an unknown part of London, unable to return back to his home neighborhood.
THE EVIDENCE: Today we are releasing new evidence that backs up 64 year-old street preacher Olu's claim that, following his arrest, he was driven by police to a remote location and left to make his own way home without money for a bus fare…#StreetPreacher #FreedomOfSpeech pic.twitter.com/G3MXubUzzA
— Christian Concern (@CConcern) March 13, 2019
“On Friday we put out a map showing the route that we believe the police car took, and where Oluwole was taken to, explaining that this is some 5.2 miles from Southgate Tube,” the group explained, noting that the police have now backtracked on their original statement, but still claim Olu was taken no more than 3.2 miles away from his preaching spot at Southgate Underground Station in North London.
As for the reason why he was taken out of the area in the first place, police stated that because Olu “indicated that he wished to continue his activities at Southgate tube station, officers felt it necessary to take the man some distance from the station in order to prevent a breach of the peace at that location.”
They have since admitted that Olu was “de-arrested” and faced no charges whatsoever, let alone for “breaching the peace.”
In addition, when the police were questioned as to whether they confirmed that Olu had the means to get home, they responded that yes, he was in possession of a bank card. Again, Christian Concern disputes this.
“He [Olu] is clear that he did not have a bank card on him when the police searched him,” the group said.
Olu was only able to get back to his neighborhood through the unsolicited kindness of a stranger, who paid his £2 bus fare so he could re-enter the travel zone that accepted London’s “oyster card” system.
In addition, while the police insist that Olu was only taken to Hadley Wood station, the preacher’s ticket shows that he had to travel back from Wrotham Park — which is a couple of miles further away.
Here is a map of what happened to #streetpreacher Olu after his arrest.#FreedomOfSpeech pic.twitter.com/f3LjcMUHk8
— Christian Concern (@CConcern) March 13, 2019
A full reconstruction of the incident and subsequent events can be viewed below:
Petition launched
Since Olu’s story went viral, Christian Concern has launched a petition urging the British government to do more to protect the rights of street preachers.
“Christian street preachers should be free to share the gospel, even where it means challenging the beliefs of others,” the group noted. “The law rightly protects freedom of speech, even if it offends, shocks or disturbs others. But too often, police officers have shown themselves either to be ignorant of this freedom or unwilling to uphold it. This leads to a chilling effect, where people are increasingly unwilling to say what they believe, for fear of arrest.”
Andrea Williams, founder and chief executive of Christian Concern, told Faithwire that she hoped that the petition would help “protect the freedom of street preachers” by ensuring that police officers only use their powers of arrest when this is absolutely necessary.
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“Street preaching in the UK has a long, storied history. Open air preaching is the only way to guarantee that all the public is given the opportunity to respond to the love of Jesus Christ,” Williams told Faithwire.
“But despite laws that theoretically support the freedom to preach in public, in practice, police officers are quick to silence preachers after any suggestion (often false) of Islamophobia or homophobia. This is not only unjust but kills free speech through self-censorship. We want to see police officers protect the freedom of street preachers by only using their powers when truly necessary,” he said.
You can sign the petition here.