Posted: August 10, 2007
International Human Rights Group

Norwegian street preacher Petar Keseljevic explains, in a video on the
International Human Rights Group website about being fined for preaching
a biblical message

The conviction and $1,500 fine for a street preacher who feels his
calling is to share the Gospel on the streets of Oslo, Norway, has been
upheld by an intermediate court, and an appeal to the European Court of
Human Rights is likely, according to the International Human Rights Group.

IHRG President Joel Thornton said from Norway that he'd been advised the
court ruling, to be released soon, will affirm the discipline against
Petar Keseljevic, who describes himself as the first street preacher in
Norway.

He was in the city's downtown area on June 29 and 30, and on the second
day was arrested for delivering a Gospel message, even though he'd been
told by city officials he could exercise his free speech rights on the
public sidewalks without a permit, Thornton said.

He was released after a few hours, and fined 9,000 Kroners, about
$1,500, then appealed, and the IHRG got involved.

"He is a strong Christian brother who has a very definite calling to
preach the Gospel on the streets of Oslo – his hometown," Thornton said.
"He preaches a very sound biblical message about the sin of man and the
need to repent and turn to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I found
Petar's enthusiasm to be infectious."

In a video on the IHRG website, Keseljevic describes his reason for
preaching: "In these last days it is important that someone takes a
stand and do what the message is meant for, share it," he said.

Thornton reported he was able to walk the streets of Oslo where
Keseljevic had been preaching in June.

"One of his early stops was at a street corner where he began preaching
to the passersby and a crowd that was gathered. While he was preaching
someone threw a full bottle of beer that whizzed by his head, missing by
inches, and burst open on the sidewalk beside Petar," Thornton said.

The next day he was preaching during a local parade to people who had
gathered to watch.

"Soon the police arrived and told him that his amplification device was
too loud. Petar immediately turned down the volume and continued to
preach. The policemen moved across the street for a few minutes and
called the precinct. Then they returned and told Petar that his message
was not good for the parade and that he would have to move," Thornton said.

The officers directed him to a remote corner along a busy street, away
from any pedestrians, and he refused to go, stating he believed he had
the right to preach on the public sidewalks.

"That is a right that is guaranteed by the European Convention on Human
Rights, which Norway has agreed to uphold," Thornton said.

He was then arrested.

Thornton said he'd been informed the court to which Keseljevic appealed
had affirmed the police action "rather than protecting the religious
rights of our client," but that details of the ruling were not
immediately available.

"We will ultimately take this … to the European Court of Human Rights if
necessary," he said.

Thornton said the case is about so much more than a dispute between a
street preacher and a police officer.

"It is about the right of a Christian to share his faith in public
without the fear of arrest. It is about stopping the implementation of a
police state where citizens only have the rights granted to them by the
local police department," he said.

Thornton's organization also was involved, when homosexual activists in
Atlanta worked with city officials to deprive street preachers there of
free speech rights.

The city created a Constitution-free zone on its public property for the
benefit of the 2007 Atlanta Pride festival, he reported.

The group also worked extensively on the case in Germany involving
homeschooled student Melissa Busekros. As was reported, an appellate
level court eventually returned custody of the 16-year-old girl to her
family, after she spent months in a psychiatric ward and with foster
families because she was homeschooled, which still is illegal in Germany.