Jordan Pettitt/PA WireA woman at the centre of a free speech controversy involving the US government has been convicted of breaching an abortion clinic protection zone.
Livia Tossici-Bolt, 64, was convicted of two charges of breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order on two days in March 2023, at Poole Magistrates' Court on Friday.
The anti-abortion campaigner held a sign saying, "Here to talk, if you want" outside a clinic in Bournemouth.
Her case caught the attention of the US State Department and US vice president JD Vance.
Her case was highlighted by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labour (DRL) - a bureau within the US Department of State, which posted a statement on X saying: "We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression."
District Judge Orla Austin told the court of the defendant: "She lacks insight that her presence could have a detrimental effect on the women attending the clinic, their associates, staff and members of the public."
She added: "I accept her beliefs were truly held beliefs. Although it's accepted this defendant held pro-life views, it's important to note this case is not about the rights and wrongs about abortion but about whether the defendant was in breach of the PSPO (Public Spaces Protection Order)."
Jordan Pettitt/PA WireRosalind Comyn, defending, highlighted that the defendant had no previous convictions.
She added: "The council hasn't produced any evidence that Ms Tossici-Bolt was in fact either observed by any service user or any other forms of harm were caused by her behaviour.
"My point is not that breaches can never cause harm, rather that there is no evidence that Ms Tossici-Bolt's conduct did in this case."
Ms Tossici-Bolt, a retired medical scientist living in Bournemouth, Dorset, said previously she was "grateful to the US State Department for taking note of my case".
She added: "Great Britain is supposed to be a free country, yet I've been dragged through court merely for offering consensual conversation. I'm thankful to ADF International for supporting my legal defence.
"Peaceful expression is a fundamental right - no-one should be criminalised for harmless offers to converse."
She went on to say that "It is tragic to see that the increase of censorship in this country has made the US feel it has to remind us of our shared values and basic civil liberties".
"I'm grateful to the US administration for prioritising the preservation and promotion of freedom of expression and for engaging in robust diplomacy to that end," she said.
She continued: "It deeply saddens me that the UK is seen as an international embarrassment when it comes to free speech.
"My case, involving only a mere invitation to speak, is but one example of the extreme and undeniable state of censorship in Great Britain today.
"It is important that the Government actually does respect freedom of expression, as it claims to."
Heidi Stewart, CEO of BPAS, said: "BPAS welcomes today's verdict which will protect women and the staff who provide abortion care.
"The clinic in Bournemouth has been subjected to many years of anti-abortion protests which resulted in more than 500 reports of harassment before this local safe access zone was brought into force.
"This case was never about global politics but about the simple ability of women to access legal healthcare free from harassment.
"It is up to the police and judicial system to determine whether individuals have broken the law.
"I, meanwhile, stand shoulder to shoulder with our staff who work so tirelessly to protect our patients from the impact of anti-abortion harassment outside the clinic gate."
In October 2024, buffer zones were brought in to prohibit protest, within a 150-metre radius around abortion services and those convicted of breaking the law could face an unlimited fine.
They were introduced through the Public Order Act 2023.
You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
