WATCH: Jailed Alberta Pastor Released On Bail; Recounts Harsh Imprisonment And Blasts ‘Evil’ Canadian Politicians
Pastor Artur Pawlowski, whose arrest for holding church services in defiance of Alberta’s Public Health Act drew international attention, recounted his harrowing experience in jail and reiterated his warning to Canadians about growing state tyranny.
Pawlowski, who was released on bail earlier this week, detailed to Rebel News (video below) how he was allegedly mistreated by some of the police and prison guards, who he claims physically abused him, mocked his Christian faith, and kept him from talking to his lawyer.
As The Daily Wire reported, a large number of police pulled over Pawlowski and his brother, Dawid Pawlowski, last Saturday to inform them that they were under arrest for allegedly violating Alberta’s Public Health Act by continuing to hold church services. Pawlowski also repeatedly ejected police and health officials from his church when they attempted to enter during worship.
After removing them from their car, officers placed the men on wet asphalt in the middle of a busy highway, handcuffed them, and dragged them into police vans. When they were unable to fit Pawlowski into the back of the van, Pawlowski said one of the officers threatened to charge him with assault if he kicked them.
“Can you imagine?” Pawlowski said. “They’re trying to fit a guy in this little space — face-down, like head-down, upside down — and then they’re threatening me with assault while they’re assaulting me.”
For about an hour, Pawlowski was forced to lie on his handcuffed wrists, he said. “You can imagine how painful that was. That was actual torture, I was being tortured by the way they did it. One hour with my whole body on the handcuffs. It was unbelievable.”
Pawlowski went on to describe his initial treatment at the jail, where he alleges he was not allowed to sleep, was not given pillows or a blanket, and was refused his request to have a Bible. When the guard shift changed, however, a staff sergeant realized he was being mistreated and treated him humanely, offering him a mattress and a Bible, he says.
“What a difference, from Gestapo, from Nazis, to a human being,” Pawlowski said.
The same thing happened again, Pawlowski said, when he and his brother were transferred to Calgary’s maximum security Remand Centre, where Pastor James Coates was also imprisoned for more than a month for holding church services. Describing how he and his brother were thrown into a filthy, urine-soaked cell, Pawlowski said, “I thought all of this is about health. It’s about keeping people safe. Listen, what a hoax, what garbage, what a big fat lie.”
Pawlowski was also incensed that a guard allegedly threw away the small balls of toilet paper that he and his brother were using to play a game to pass the time, which he claimed was a petty display of power.
Pawlowski also speculated that someone in prison leadership was resistant to a judge’s order to release him, for which reason it was delayed.
While acknowledging some of them were sympathetic to him, Pawlowski said he believes most of the police have a vendetta against him. “It has become personal. It looks like me challenging their authority, that’s unacceptable. Me having, you know, a big mouth, and when I open my mouth, they don’t like it.”
“So it was, clearly, you could see it was a vendetta. They recognized us right away. They knew who we were and they were mocking us. One jailer would just, you know, put his hands like, ‘Praise the Lord,’ laughing at us and pointing, like, totally mocking our faith, mocking us. Zero respect not just for a clergyman, zero respect for us as humans. We were dogs. That’s how we were treated there.”
“When [is this] insanity is going to end?” Pawlowski later asked. “They’re doing this to me, they’re going to come after you. It’s just a matter of time. We have become political prisoners in Canada because we dare to challenge their corruption. Because that’s what it is. The whole system is corrupted. The politicians are corrupted people. The jail system is corrupted. If they can do this to me, they can do this to you and anyone they wish to hurt.”
“It becomes personal, it becomes a personal vendetta and [Alberta Premier] Jason Kenney coming out and saying that, ‘I’m going to crush Pawlowski,’ that really broke my heart because it shows the level of evil. Evil! They’re evil people. The premier of Alberta is an evil man.”
“I think we have fallen very, very low in our country,” Pawlowski added.
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Related: Can Religious Liberty Survive COVID-19?
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