A group of Christians arrested on Dec. 12 received a reduction in their sentence for “unauthorized worship” last week, one of those convicted said.
The 11 Christians, including the owner of the site rented for the occasion, had received a suspended sentence of six months in prison and a 200,000 dinar-fine (US$1,380) each, and on appeal a court on Thursday (April 28) retained the suspended prison sentence but reduced the fine to 100,000 dinars (US$690), the source said.
Algeria’s 2006 ordinance, Law 06/03, stipulates that all non-Muslim worship must be carried out in buildings designated with official permission, though the government has failed to consider any applications for granting permission, according to advocacy organization Middle East Concern (MEC).
Police in Tizi-Ouzou on Dec. 4 raided the site of the gathering of the 12 Christians, including three women and a French guest speaker, and arrested them for non-Muslim worship without authorization. They spent 48 hours in the police jail before appearing before a judge on Dec. 6, the source said.
They were each sentenced to six months suspended sentence and a fine of 200,000 dinars. While the Algerian nationals appealed, the French visitor paid the fine and was then ordered to leave the country.
On appeal, the remaining 11 appeared in court on April 14, and in the verdict dated April 28 they received a reduction of their fine to 100,000 dinars (US$690), the source said.
In Aïn El Hamam, 45 kilometers (27 miles) southeast of Tizi Ouzou in Djurdjura, in the Kabylia region, authorities in January charged a pastor with unauthorized worship at his home and unauthorized broadcasting on social networks.
The pastor, unnamed for security reasons, had undertaken such practicees without problem for years, he said. A judge acquitted him earlier this year, and when the proesecution appealed, the judge again acquitted the pastor on March 24. - Christian Headlines
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