A Finnish parliamentarian has been blocked from entering the UK to give an address on freedom of speech at a conference this week, following her criminal conviction for “hate speech” by Finland’s Supreme Court. Longstanding Christian politician Päivi Räsänen, who is a member of the Finnish Parliament’s “Friends of the United Kingdom” group, was due to give a talk in person this week about freedom of speech, at a religious freedom conference. However, in July, Räsänen was informed that her Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to the UK had been cancelled, despite her application initially being approved in June.

A Federal High Court in northern Nigeria has ruled that Islamic religious police have no authority to arrest a young woman over her conversion from Islam to Christianity, in a judgment that curbs the reach of Sharia enforcement units operating in northern Nigeria. The ruling came in the case of Sarah*, now 22, who fled her family home in Kano State in 2025 after suffering abuse from her elder siblings, who were also attempting to force her into marriage against her wishes. (Sarah’s parents had died years prior.) Sarah took refuge with a Christian family, the Abaras, and while living with them, converted to Christianity herself.

Iraq’s Court of Cassation has affirmed a previous ruling in favor of a young Christian woman, Maryam*, allowing her to have her official religious status corrected in the government’s database after she was automatically registered as Muslim under Iraqi law. The ruling from the country’s highest appellate court on personal status matters ordered the correction of Maryam’s religious classification and marks a strong step forward for religious freedom in cases of state-assigned religion, where Christians are inaccurately classified as Muslims in government-issued documents. 

A US commission established by President Donald Trump has highlighted Europe’s free speech crisis by referencing in a draft report the criminal convictions of an army veteran in the UK for silently praying, and a Christian politician in Finland for writing a church booklet. The Religious Liberty Commission, which was set up to advise and report to the US President on emerging threats to religious freedom, has delivered its draft report, which included citing international religious freedom concerns.  

“The government can’t force pro-life organizations to sabotage their own beliefs by requiring them to employ staff who endorse abortion—a decision that harms women and ends innocent lives,” said ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart, who argued before the court on behalf of the pro-life groups. “The First Amendment protects the right of these organizations to hire employees who can carry out and share the message of hope and joy associated with the gift of life. For these pro-life groups, the messenger matters. The court made the right decision by protecting their constitutional freedom to hire employees who share their views in word and deed so that they can express messages consistent with their beliefs.”

The resolution strongly condemns the Kawel massacre and calls on the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU to “pay particular attention to the deteriorating situation of Christians and all persecuted religious communities in Nigeria. The resolution also calls on the Nigerian authorities to prosecute those responsible for attacks, to “strengthen both counterterrorism operations against armed militants, particularly in the Middle Belt region, and efforts to counter Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province”, and to improve early-warning systems and adequately address the situation of internally displaced persons.  

“No government should single out views they don’t like for disfavored treatment,” said ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart, who argued before the 8th Circuit on behalf of the counselors in May. “The Kansas City and Jackson County ordinances allow counselors to push kids down the dangerous path of gender transition, often leading to harmful drugs and surgeries, but they forbid counselors like Wyatt and Pamela from talking with kids to help them accept their bodies—even when that is the client’s express goal or the reason they seek the counselors’ advice. This is precisely what the U.S. Supreme Court so recently explained isn’t acceptable under the First Amendment.”

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear the case of a devout Orthodox Jew suing the city of University Heights, Ohio, after officials required him to obtain a permit to pray in his home with a small group of friends. Lower federal courts threw out his lawsuit and said he needed to finish the permitting process before vindicating his constitutional rights.

“Clearly, state officials shouldn’t enforce unconstitutional laws, and that’s no less true in this case,” said Simms Showers Partner William R. Thetford, lead counsel for the pregnancy centers. “Pregnancy centers are a force for good in Wilmington and the surrounding community, offering families true, life-affirming care and resources during unplanned or unsupported pregnancies, and now they can pursue that worthy mission unshackled by an inappropriate application of the law.”

“This is a great win for DoorDash’s employees and shareholders. Our clients see themselves as stewards of their assets, thereby seeking to build relationships with the companies they own. We’re very grateful to DoorDash for their willingness to find a solution which worked for both the company and our clients who are shareholders. We continue our year-round efforts to secure more changes like this for the shareholders we represent,” said Pia de Solenni, vice president of corporate engagement at IWP Capital.

“Censorship is one of the greatest existential threats to today’s democracies in Europe. You do not need to agree with my beliefs to see the danger of criminalizing peaceful speech. When the state controls which ideas and beliefs may be expressed, democracy becomes fragile. My case reveals where this path can lead. My experience in Finland has shown me that laws which criminalize speech have a very real cost not only to individuals, but also society at large. They encourage law-abiding citizens to censor their speech, and deprive wider society of conversations of critical importance."

“Every American has the right to host a prayer gathering in his home, and he certainly doesn’t need a city permit to do so. When government officials forbid that, courts must hold those individuals accountable,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch. “The city’s actions underscore a troubling trend of weaponizing zoning laws against people of faith while allowing other gatherings of the same size, like book clubs or poker nights, to meet without issue. This is religious discrimination that the First Amendment prohibits.”

In classrooms across the globe, a quiet yet burgeoning campaign is underway to shape what children as young as 5 are taught about sex, relationships, and their own bodies. It is being driven by some of the world’s most influential institutions such as the UN, while parents, legal guardians, and the wider public are kept largely in the dark about what is happening behind school walls.

“A law written to protect women has been used to punish a woman for creating a space for women. That is what today’s judgment means in practice,” said Robert Clarke, Director of Advocacy for ADF International.   “The addition of ‘gender identity’ to the Sex Discrimination Act has been used to undermine the most basic conception of what a woman is. The need for single-sex spaces is recognised in international human rights law. It must be recognised in Australian law too, and if the courts will not say so, then Parliament must.”

“The retroactive censorship of a 20-year-old booklet produced by and for a church community is among the most chilling developments in the ongoing attack on freedom of speech across Europe,” said Lorcán Price, legal counsel with ADF International, serving on Räsänen’s legal team.