A British army veteran has now been convicted for silently praying outside an abortion clinic, in what experts are calling “a legal turning point of immense proportions” for free speech and religious liberty in the U.K.

Adam Smith-Connor, who served 20 years in the Army Reserves, was found guilty Wednesday of violating a buffer zone around a Bournemouth clinic in 2022. The court ruled that despite his silent prayer, his clasped hands and bowed head were enough to show “disapproval of abortion,” the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, said in a statement.

The defendant was charged under the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), a broad censorship order that localities can issue under a 2014 law to curb “anti-social behavior.”

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The veteran was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay nearly $12,000 in court costs. Mr. Smith-Connor, expressing shock at the verdict, said he didn’t know how the courts could so viciously turn on the tenets of religious expression that England once fully espoused.

“I served for 20 years in the Army Reserves, including a tour in Afghanistan, to protect the fundamental freedoms that this country is built upon,” he said, according to the Catholic Herald.

“I continue that spirit of service as a health care professional and church volunteer. It troubles me greatly to see our freedoms eroded to the extent that thought-crimes are now being prosecuted in the U.K.,” he added.

Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF U.K., called the ruling as “a watershed moment” as the first modern conviction of a Christian in Britain for praying silently— a true thought-crime.

The conviction also drew sharp criticism from Catholic MP Sir Edward Leigh, who called the ruling a grave assault on personal liberty. 

“It is disgraceful that in Britain in 2024 someone can be put on trial for praying silently in his head,” Mr. Leigh said, the Catholic Herald reported. “Unfortunately we have seen repeated cases of free speech under threat in the U.K. when it comes to the expression of Christian beliefs.”

This case underscores growing concern over the U.K.’s newly expanded buffer zones around abortion clinics, which will soon criminalize even peaceful prayer within 150 yards of any facility. Religious leaders, including Catholic bishops, have condemned the legislation as “unnecessary and disproportionate,” warning that it imposes severe restrictions on both free speech and religious practice.

The ruling also comes just weeks after West Midlands Police paid nearly $17,000 to Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Catholic woman who was wrongfully arrested for silently praying outside another abortion clinic.