Right of reply: Who is ADF International in reality?

Should Europeans be free to express their opinions?

We think so.

In fact, we stand up in courts around the world – from Finland to Nigeria – defending those being unjustly criminalised for doing just that.

Recently, an author in this magazine wrote an opinion piece expressing a negative opinion about us. That would be ok, except a lot of what he wrote wasn’t true.

The article was titled “Who are the Alliance Defending Freedom, and why are they lobbying in Brussels?” — but nobody came to ask us the answer. 

To set the record straight, ADF International stands for every individual’s right to live in accordance with their beliefs in Europe and beyond. 

We advocate to end the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities around the world.

We defend families and individuals in court, and champion fundamental freedoms at the national and international level.

Working alongside our network of over 4,000 lawyers around the world, our Brussels-based team brings important human rights cases to light in the EU.

Take Yahaya Sharif Aminu, a Sufi musician in Nigeria, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2020 despite not having legal representation, after sharing audio messages on WhatsApp deemed blasphemous towards the prophet Mohammed. He remains in prison awaiting a retrial.

ADF International is supporting his defence at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, but justice is moving slowly.

Our team is on the ground in Brussels to bring the EU’s attention to critical cases such as this one, leveraging the institution’s ability to be a beacon of human rights for the world – for example, via an urgent resolution condemning blasphemy laws.  

Or, take Päivi Räsänen: ADF International is supporting the legal defence of the long-serving parliamentarian and grandmother of 12. She’s facing criminal trial at the Finnish Supreme Court on charges of “hate speech” — for posting a Bible verse tweet in 2019.

You might not agree with Päivi’s peaceful expression of her Christian beliefs about marriage, but a free and democratic Europe requires people of all faiths and none to be able to participate in public discourse without fear of criminal punishment.

With our presence at the international institutions, we are able to raise her story at the EU as a much-needed warning as Europe debates various iterations of censorship across the continent.

Financial supporters of ADF International come from Europe and across the globe – reflecting true international backing for our work. ADF International’s teams are staffed locally.

In Brussels that means Europeans who believe in European values – upholding human rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to life.

ADF International is committed to the defence of human rights, to the benefit of everyone.

Any allegations of being a “hate group” are nothing but lies stemming from the false and debunked claims of the US-based Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC).

The SPLC has been widely discredited by investigative journalists, charity watchdogs, and commentators as activist, partisan, and unreliable.

It has created a biased and ideologically-driven “hate group” list as part of a “highly profitable scam”, as one former SPLC employee described it.

Countless mainstream media outlets have exposed SPLC’s biased agenda and misconduct. In fact, the SPLC has been sued multiple times for unjustly spreading false information about groups in order to discredit those with whom they disagree. 

So, who is ADF International?

Here’s the truth: ADF International is among the largest and most effective legal advocacy organisations in the world dedicated to protecting religious freedom and free speech rights, in Europe, and across the world.