A Christian minister who has been arrested twice previously in Oslo for talking about Jesus in public now has been chased from the city center by police officers with the threat of yet another arrest if he returns, according to a lawyer who is working on his case.
Larry Keffer, who works through the Biblical Research Center in Tampa, Fla., was among a team of Christians trying to proclaim the message of Christ during the recent visit to the city by Obama.
Keffer, whose previous arrests came while he was working with Norwegian evangelist Petar Keseljevic and whose cases still are being challenged, was working with other American evangelists, including Ruben Israel, this week in Oslo.
Almost immediately, police agents told the evangelists to remove their banners and their signs, then move across the street, even though the nation's laws formally recognize freedom of speech.
Then, as the evangelists prepared to leave, they were told they were banned from the center of Oslo for 24 hours and would be arrested if they returned under any circumstances.
It seems that Oslo is not interested in permitting Christian speech in public areas during any outdoor event.
The previous encounter with police by Keffer and Petar Keseljevic took place last year. The two were sharing their faith calmly and quietly during the Norwegian Independence Day Celebration when officers made them leave the area of the Royal Palace.
Officers soon chased them down at a new location and arrested them.
They were convicted in Norway, but an appeal was filed with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
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