A British Army veteran and father-of-two has spoken of his gratitude to U.S. Vice President JD Vance for highlighting his conviction for silent prayer in a speech to world leaders in which the American leader warned that free speech is "in retreat" in Europe. 

Adam Smith-Connor was convicted last October of breaching an abortion clinic buffer zone in Bournemouth, England, by praying silently. He was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £9,000 ($11,335).

Addressing world leaders at a security conference in Munich on Friday, Vance drew attention to the 51 year old's conviction by saying "perhaps most concerning, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom, where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular in the crosshairs." 

"A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith Connor, a 51-year-old physiotherapist and an Army veteran, with the heinous crime of standing 50 meters [55 yards] from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes, not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own," said Vance. 

Smith-Connor, who is appealing his conviction, said he was "overwhelmingly thankful" to Vance for raising his plight in front of world leaders.

"Nobody should be criminalized for their prayers, their mere thoughts," he said. 

Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, which is supporting Smith-Connor's appeal, said, "The policing of people's very thoughts in 'buffer zones' is the most extreme example of censorship across the West. While crime festers on the streets of England, it's unbelievable that police time and resources are focused on criminalizing peaceful Christians, who simply want to pray."

"Nobody can deny that two-tier policing is a problem here; nobody can deny that we are riding roughshod over freedom of speech and of thought," he added. "I thank VP Vance for issuing this wake-up call to our government — we must restore basic standards of human rights."

Christian Post