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| Bernadette Smyth: Anti-abortion protester given community service | Bernadette Smyth: Anti-abortion protester given community service |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An anti-abortion protester convicted of harassing a Marie Stopes clinic director has been sentenced to 100 hours community service. | An anti-abortion protester convicted of harassing a Marie Stopes clinic director has been sentenced to 100 hours community service. |
| Bernadette Smyth, 52, who leads the anti-abortion group Precious Life, must also pay £2,000 compensation to the victim of her campaign, Dawn Purvis. | Bernadette Smyth, 52, who leads the anti-abortion group Precious Life, must also pay £2,000 compensation to the victim of her campaign, Dawn Purvis. |
| A five-year restraining order from pestering Ms Purvis or anyone seeking to enter the clinic was also imposed. | A five-year restraining order from pestering Ms Purvis or anyone seeking to enter the clinic was also imposed. |
| Mrs Smyth has also been excluded from going within 20 yards of the clinic. | Mrs Smyth has also been excluded from going within 20 yards of the clinic. |
| She had denied harassing Ms Purvis, a former assembly member, on two dates earlier this year. | She had denied harassing Ms Purvis, a former assembly member, on two dates earlier this year. |
| However, on Wednesday a judge at Belfast Magistrates Court said: "The behaviour of stopping people, questioning them about why they were going into the premises, was a direct harassment of Dawn Purvis." | |
| Anti-abortion campaigners have protested at the door of the Marie Stopes clinic since it opened in Belfast two years ago. | Anti-abortion campaigners have protested at the door of the Marie Stopes clinic since it opened in Belfast two years ago. |
| It is the first private organisation to offer early medical abortions in Northern Ireland, where the legislation regarding pregnancy termination is much more strict than in the rest of the UK. | It is the first private organisation to offer early medical abortions in Northern Ireland, where the legislation regarding pregnancy termination is much more strict than in the rest of the UK. |
| A woman can only have an abortion if it can be proven that her life is at risk, or if there is a serious danger of permanent damage to her mental or physical health. | A woman can only have an abortion if it can be proven that her life is at risk, or if there is a serious danger of permanent damage to her mental or physical health. |
| Mrs Smyth's solicitor said her conviction was "a disappointment for Christians worldwide". | Mrs Smyth's solicitor said her conviction was "a disappointment for Christians worldwide". |
| As she left the court, supporters of Mrs Smyth, some of whom had earlier formed a prayer circle in the public waiting area, cheered and clapped. | As she left the court, supporters of Mrs Smyth, some of whom had earlier formed a prayer circle in the public waiting area, cheered and clapped. |
| Her solicitor said they would be appealing the verdict and the sentence, with a date set for 16 January. |