Artur Pawlowski, the preacher who was detained and imprisoned for conducting a religious service while Alberta was under lockdown, has received a significant legal victory from a Canadian tribunal.
The Story
On May 8 of last year, Pawlowski, the pastor of Calgary Street Church, was returning from the chapel where his flock assembled without masks in violation of public health restrictions.
This was when police in Calgary made a spectacular arrest of him in the middle of a major roadway.
In addition to planning an unlawful in-person assembly, Pawlowski and his brother, Dawid Pawlowski, were accused of “requesting, urging, or asking others” to join them.
Later in October, a judge declared them in violation of Alberta’s health directive from May 6.
Additionally, the judge imposed a penalty on the pastor, ordering Pawlowski to publicly announce the majority of medical professionals favor social isolation, face masks, and vaccinations anytime he discussed Alberta’s pandemic regulations.
On the other hand, a panel of the Alberta Court of Appeal concluded on Friday the Pawlowskis were not covered by the Alberta Health Agency’s order prohibiting “illegal public meetings” because it was “not adequately explicit and clear.”
A preacher and his brother have successfully appealed their convictions for hosting public gatherings during the pandemic and are to have their fines reimbursed. https://t.co/ThaUOKbLa5
— Philippine Canadian Inquirer (@pcinews_twt) July 23, 2022
The court mandated that the country’s health organization, Alberta Health Services, pay Pawlowski’s legal fees, as well as any fines that were assessed against him.
In a tweet, Pawlowski’s attorney expressed his satisfaction with the outcome.
Since 2020, Pawlowski has endured several arrests, fines, and jail terms for disobeying and opposing Alberta’s harsh pandemic regulations.
When Pawlowski began serving seared steak to homeless people in Calgary in December 2020, police contacted him and fined him $1,200.
Social media anger has been triggered by shocking footage showing Canadian police repeatedly detaining the preacher.
Mistreated!
After talking to motorists with the Freedom Convoy, who were opposing vaccination requirements at the U.S.-Canada boundary, Pawlowski was arrested and held in custody for several weeks in February.
He allegedly spent 23 hours per day in confinement at the Calgary Remand Centre.
The is the belligerent abuse Canadians face when arriving home from abroad.
"Thats another fine" he says when told by Canadian citizen that he won't disclose his medical information.
Have you read the first page of your passport?
Stand up for the future generation(s) 🍁 pic.twitter.com/EF2CJYXQdO
— Freedom Preacher 🍁 🇳🇱 (@FreedomPreach) July 15, 2022
He was put in what he likened to a dog kennel, but it was actually more of a cage, similar to what you might find in a police van.
So again, he was kept in something for hours at a time, according to Nathaniel Pawlowski, Pawlowski’s child.
The preacher replied from behind bars, “I can sense your prayers, and they keep me going.”
“God has given me the opportunity to stand here as a witness to the entire world, demonstrating what happens when you expel God from your country. Corruption, unfairness, and anarchy began to spread.”
In Holy Week the previous year, a video of Pawlowski pleading with police to leave his chapel got a lot of attention.
Additionally, he met with American legislators, warning them some countries are starting to resemble communist Poland, which he escaped as a young man.
This article appeared in Conservative Cardinal and has been published here with permission.
