DEARBORN — According to a lawsuit settlement that was announced on Monday, the City of Dearborn has agreed to publicly apologize to a group of Christian missionaries, who were arrested in 2010 while protesting at the annual Arab International Festival. Under the terms of the settlement, the City must post an apology on its website for three years. In addition, it must also remove a news release and letter from Dearborn Mayor John O’Reilly that had criticized the group for “their attack on the City of Dearborn for having tolerance for all religions including believers in the Koran,” according to the Detroit Free Press.  The City also agreed to pay the missionaries an undisclosed amount of money to compensate them for any hardship that occurred during their arrest.

Christian missionaries listen to Judge Mark Somers during their arraignment in 19th District Court in July, 2010.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Freedom Law Center in Ann Arbor on behalf of Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood and Paul Rezkalla, who are members of the Christian missionary group, Acts 17 Apologetics.  They claimed that their rights were violated when they were arrested by police on June 18, 2010 and charged with “breach of the peace” for their protest. In September 2010, a jury unanimously acquitted the men of any wrongdoing.

“At the end of the day, this decision made sense for all parties,” O’Reilly said. “We’re happy to comply with their request for a posted apology. It reflects the fact that we believe in free speech and we want to make sure we continue to support those rights.”

In its posted apology, the City states that it “regrets and apologizes for the decisions to arrest and prosecute” the missionaries.  “The decision to arrest these individuals was based in part on information provided to the Dearborn police by Arab Festival attendees, workers, and volunteers,” the City states. “Through this apology … the city seeks to build a bridge and to confirm to the community that members of all faiths are welcome in Dearborn to peacefully share their views and to engage in religious discussions.”