A Perth street preacher who was detained in a police cell for more than five hours at the weekend claims he is being stripped of his “freedom of speech”.
For the second time in a matter of days 27-year-old Josh Williamson fell foul of police officers as he preached on the city’s High Street.
On Wednesdayafter addressing shoppers in the pedestrianised centre he was taken to Perth police station and issued with a warning after he refused to move on..embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; height: auto; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
Undeterred by the incident the Australian,who arrived in the city with his wife and two-year-old son last month to lead Craigie Reformed Baptist Church, decided to venture out again on Saturday.
“I met some friends who were handing out literature and preaching,” said Mr Williamson. “I got up and a handful of minutes later the police came across and stopped me.
“They said they had received a complaint and it was a breach of the peace as I had upset people with what I was saying.”
Mr Williamson said that at the time he was preaching that Jesus Christ had come into the world to save sinners.
He says that the two officers told his friends not to film the incident and following a discussion about his actions he was “manhandled” into a police car and taken to Perth police station and detained for five and a half hours.
He understands the evidence is being evaluated to see if he will face charges. Police Scotland’s Dundee control said they weren’t in a position to comment on Mr Williamson’s version of events.