One Saint
  • Home
  • Jesus Said
    • Matthew
    • Mark
    • Luke
    • John
    • Acts
    • I Corinthians
    • II Corinthians
    • Revelation
  • OS Blog
  • Library
  • MP3s
    • Mystery Babylon
    • Pastors, Ministers and Priests
    • Run from the Devil
    • Miscellaneous Teachings
  • Music
    • One Saint on YouTube
    • Music of Heaven
    • Handel's Messiah
    • Miscellaneous Music >
      • Musical Library I
      • Musical Library II
      • Musical Library III
      • Musical Library IV
      • Musical Library V
      • Musical Library VI
      • Musical Library VII
      • Musical Library VIII
      • Musical Library IX
      • Musical Library X
      • Musical Library XI
      • Musical Library XII
      • Musical Library XIII
      • Musical Library XIV
      • Musical Library XV
      • Musical Library XVI
      • Musical Library XVII
  • Video
    • DR S M Lockridge, Full Sermon
    • Enoch
    • Gospel Of Luke
    • Greatest Biblical Archaeological Discoveries Of All Time
    • King Solomon
    • Leonard Ravenhill
    • One Saint
    • Rabbi Jonathan Cahn
    • Revelation, The Book
    • Roger Morneau
    • Ruth
    • Sermon On The Mount
    • That's My King!
    • The Bride, The Beast & Babylon
    • The Jesus Movie
  • Blog Archive
    • David
    • Askakido
    • Eschatology
    • Annie
    • All Saints
    • One Saint
    • Crown of Life
    • Prayer
  • Links

Algerian Christians Sentenced for Proseylitizing

2/13/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture















Christians Sentenced for Proselytizing Fight Verdict in Algeria's Court
 Muslim and Christian Advocates Demand Religious Freedom for all Algerians

Aidan Clay, Regional Manager for the Middle East

02/13/2013
Washington D.C. 
International Christian Concern

The final verdict of an Algerian sentenced to one year in prison for allegedly propagating the Christian faith is scheduled to be announced today during his appeal hearing in Tindouf. A second Christian, being tried for the same offense in Oran, is expected to learn whether his five-year prison sentence will stand in the coming weeks. The cases' verdicts will reveal the Algerian government's commitment, or lack thereof, to religious freedom, rights advocates say.

On July 4, 2012, Mohamed Ibaouene, a Christian convert from Islam, was sentenced in absentia by a court in Tigzirt to one year in prison and fined 50,000 dinars (approximately 640 USD) for proselytizing. Abdelkrim Mansouri, Ibaouene's former colleague, had filed a complaint with the National Gendarmerie in Tindouf in February 2012 saying that Ibaouene had pressured him to "abandon" Islam and convert to Christianity. Ibaouene denies the charges, claiming that it was in fact Mansouri who had pressured him to renounce Christianity. 

"Is it true that you are a Christian?" Mansouri reportedly asked Ibaouene. "Yes, I am," Ibaouene replied. Mansouri went on to demand that Ibaouene return to Islam, which he called "the religion of all Algerians," by renouncing his Christian faith, Morning Star News reports.

It was not until December that Ibaouene learned of his July conviction that had been issued under Article 11 of Law 03/2006, which restricts the religious practices of non-Muslims. "Authorities did not serve the judgment to Ibaouene sooner presumably because he had left Tindouf after marrying in June and they were not aware of his whereabouts, and because of slow administrative processes," reported Morning Star News. 

"This story that binds my client was invented from scratch," said Ibaouene's lawyer Mohamed Benbelkacem following an appeal hearing on Jan. 23. "This trial does not even make sense... [The] law is itself ambiguous. Nothing is clear in its implementation." The appeals judge is expected to reach a decision on Feb. 13.

Ibaouene is not the only Christian that may be imprisoned for proselytism in Algeria. Siaghi Krimo, arrested in April 2011 and detained for three days in Oran after giving a CD about Christianity to a neighbor, was given a five-year prison sentence in May 2011 under Article 144 bis 2 of Algeria's Penal Code, which criminalizes acts that "insult the Prophet and any of the messengers of God, or denigrate the creed and precepts of Islam." Krimo was summoned to an appellate court in November 2012 following the trial's nearly one-year postponement in order that new evidence could be presented. Krimo's next hearing has been postponed to an unannounced date.

Christians and Muslims came to Krimo's defense during protests outside the Ministry of Justice in Algiers prior to his case's adjournment in December 2011. "So what if he is an Algerian Jew or Christian, he has the right to live like any other who is a Muslim," Selma, a Muslim student in Algiers, told the independent newspaper El Watan. "A Christian completely has the right to offer someone a Bible, just as a Muslim has the right to offer a Quran. Previously, these types of cases were mostly held in Kabylie, now they are taking place in Oran. Where will it go from here?"

To many Algerians, Krimo's verdict was viewed not merely as an offense committed against a Christian, but as a direct violation of the human rights of all Algerians."People decided to show solidarity with their fellow citizen who had chosen a religion that suited him," Kaddour Chouicha, a representative of the National Coordination for Change and Democracy, told Radio France Internationale. "The Algerian constitution allows freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, and freedom of thought. The judge exceeded his powers by ruling in accordance to his ideology over his regard for the law."

While laws that discriminate against religious minorities are found in Algeria's legal codes, the country is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article 18 that, "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion... [and] in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

Christians like Krimo, however, are unlikely to succumb to government pressure-even if it means imprisonment-by surrendering their religious liberties. "Krimo's family has decided to fight the battle without fear of intimidation by the court," a spokesman of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) told ICC. "They are not ashamed of their faith... Krimo said he is willing to go to jail if necessary.  'I preached in obedience to the Lord, and I will preach again and again,' he told me."

For interviews, contact Aidan Clay, Regional Manager for the Middle East:
[email protected]
 
# # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference ICC (International Christian Concern) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church.  For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
 
International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #241
Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org  |  E-mail: [email protected]

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Crown of Life Blog

    Picture
    The Martyrdom of ST Stephen, Pietro da Cortona, 1660

    News and Information about
    Persecuted Christians from all around the
    World

    Persecuted saints benefit most from your heartfelt and earnest prayer.

    Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;
    for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him
    .
    James 1:12

    'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the
    devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so
    that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
    Revelation 2:10

    New American Standard Bible 
    (NASB)

    Copyright © 
    1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971,
    1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
    by
    The Lockman Foundation


    Picture

    HOW TO READ A PERSECUTION NEWS STORY

    Trials make the promise sweet;
    Trials give new life to prayer;
    Trials bring me to His feet,
    Lay me low, and keep me there.


    "God often takes away our comforts and our privileges in order to make us better Christians. He trains His soldiers not in tents of ease and luxury, but by turning them out and subjecting them to forced marches and hard service. He makes them ford through streams, and swim through rivers, and climb mountains, and walk many long miles with heavy backpacks of sorrow. Well, Christian, may this not account for the troubles through which you are passing? Is the Lord bringing out your graces and making them grow? Is it for this reason He contends with you?"

    Read Why Do I Face Trials?,
    by Alistair Begg, Truth for Life Daily, at One Place

    Christian persecution is just a phenomenon in the
    Middle East.

    Christians aren’t greatly
    impacted by persecution.

    Whatever persecution there is, the damage is superficial - more a loss of multicultural diversity than anything else.

    Christians supposedly bring persecution upon themselves by proselytizing.

    Persecution couldn’t
    happen here.

    Please read 5 Myths about Persecution of Christians, by
    Kristin Wright, at Religion Today.


    Share



    email the webmaster

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    January 2018
    November 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012