A Scottish judge has dismissed charges against a woman for holding a pro-life sign in a “buffer zone” close to an abortion clinic.
Rose Docherty, 75, who was arrested for peacefully offering support to women outside the clinic, was the first person to be charged under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act, Scotland’s buffer zone legislation.
The case against Docherty, a grandmother, was thrown out after her lawyers contended that the charges infringed her Article 10 freedom of expression rights.
Responding to the verdict, Docherty said, “This verdict is a major victory for free speech in Scotland and the UK. It shows that peacefully offering consensual conversation on a public street, which is all I have ever done, can never be a crime”.
“Simply for being available for the lonely, the afraid and the coerced, I have been treated like a violent criminal. But thankfully, today the charges have been dismissed. The judge ruled that the charges were irrelevant and that they were a breach of my Article 10 free speech rights”, she added.
ADF International barrister Jeremiah Igunnubole, who assisted Docherty’s defence, welcomed the verdict, saying: “Rose’s free speech rights have been vindicated by the court in a significant victory for freedom of expression in the United Kingdom. The prosecution of Rose has no place in a free and democratic society. No one should ever be criminalised for peaceful speech, least of all for making a peaceful and consensual offer to speak.”