Overview

• On June 5 in Brussels, officers detained Chris Elston and Lois McLatchie Miller for holding signs opposing transgender medical treatment for children.
• Their placards, reading “Children are never born in the wrong body” and “Children cannot consent to puberty blockers,” were confiscated after police cited an unspecified permit requirement.
• Elston and Miller were taken to two separate police stations, stripped, searched and released without charges after several hours.
• Alliance Defending Freedom International condemned the arrests as an example of authoritarian overreach and a breach of protected demonstration rights.
• Supporters have called on Belgian authorities to uphold free-speech obligations under domestic and international law and consider sanctions against those responsible.