Christian sentenced for organising worship service

A judge on June 16 handed a Christian father of two in northwest Algeria a suspended prison sentence and a hefty fine for holding a worship service  at his house, four days before another judge fined the owner of land that a church uses.

Prosecutors had sought a six-month prison sentence and a fine of 500,000 Algerian dinars (US$4,200) for the 35-year-old father in Mostaganem, a coastal town about 350 kilometers (217 miles) west of Algiers.

 The judge instead delivered the two-month, suspended prison sentence and a fine of 100,000 dinars ($840) to the new Christian, who requested anonymity as he fears for his life in the officially Muslim North African country.

For inviting a Christian couple to pray with him, an area source said, he was accused of organizing Christian worship in his home under Algeria’s notorious religion law of June 2006, commonly known as the 03/06 law, which forbids non-Muslim worship for unregistered churches.

The law stipulates that churches must obtain the permission of a national committee to be registered, but this committee has never met, and no church request has been officially considered or approved, sources said.

“Incredible but true, it was enough that a neighbor denounced him and accused him wrongly, and he is condemned, all because he welcomed a Christian couple to pray together,” said the area source, who cannot be identified for security reasons.

 “He is frightened and shocked by this accusation.”
Police had summoned the Christian for questioning several times, the source said.

“During these visits to the police station, the poor man had to endure terrible pressure and intimidation, though he was known as a man of peace,” he said.Morning star news.
Topstory