Saudi Arabia Update: Three Prisoners Tortured, Haiti: Persecution Returns, Page 4

March 2002

Articles in this issue:  Reaching the Persecuted, Page 1 | China, Page 2 | Sudan, Page 3 | Saudi Arabia, Haiti, Page 4

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Acts 18:9, 10

Saudi Arabia Update: Three Prisoners Tortured

Baharu Menghistu

ICC received the following letter from three Ethiopian Christians who have been imprisoned in Jeddah since August of last year. A total of 14 Christians were jailed for more than six months because of their Christian activities.

"On January 28, 2002, by order of the Breman Deportation Prison Commander Major Bender Sultan Shabani and with no hearing, trial or process of law, we were illegally subjected to severe punishment and physical abuse. Being suspended with chains, the three of us were flogged 80 times with a flexible metal cable, and also severely kicked and beaten with anything that came into their hands. This was witnessed by over 1,000 deportees."

Our bodies are wounded, swollen, terribly bruised and with great pain. Baharu's kidney may have been damaged and he is passing blood with his urine. When we reported to the prison hospital for treatment, we were slapped and told to come back after we were dead. It seems as if we were brought to Breman Deportation Prison to be tortured to death."

A week after enduring such brutal torture, one of the Ethiopian Christians, Baharu Menghistu, was deported to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Thank God for saving him out of the lion's jaws! Baharu is now receiving medical treatment for his injuries. At the time this went to press, all but three of the 14 Christians had been released and deported. The remaining three will hopefully be released by mid February.

The outcome could have been entirely different. According to Baharu, "There was talk in the prison that we might be executed by beheading. Had it not been for intervention from our Christian brothers and sisters, it is possible that this could have happened."

Sadly, while in detention, the Christians learned from the other prisoners that two unnamed Nigerian Christians were recently beheaded.

ICC thanks everyone who wrote letters on the behalf of the 14 Chrsitians. Please continue to express your concern about the treatment of Christians in Saudi Arabia so that future arrests can be avoided.

(Click here for more information on Saudi Arabia.)

Haiti: Persecution Returns

	Children of Haiti

In January ICC received disturbing reports from a Haitian pastor that violence against Christians is on the rise in this small island nation. Violence in general is up as noted in a State Department Travel Warning issued on December 28, 2001. This report noted that: "There are no `safe areas' in Haiti. Crime, already a problem, is growing. The state of law and order is of increasing concern, with reports of armed robberies and break-ins, kidnappings, murders and car hijackings becoming more frequent." Christians in particular have been targeted because of their resistance to the spirit of evil prevalent in this country dominated by the practice of voodoo.

ICC was told that several pastor's homes were burned in Carrefour, Aquin, and Bois Caiman. One Christian was reportedly burned to death while another was murdered and hacked to pieces. Several Christians were also kidnapped and others have received threats of kidnapping. To silence the voices of the Christians, police officers briefly jailed at least three Christians for preaching. Several people have narrowly escaped death as the Lord thwarted efforts of armed assailants to murder them. On top of that it is reported that indiscriminate killing has become prevalent and piles of dead bodies are frequently dumped under a bridge in Carrefour.

Please pray for the nation of Haiti and that the Christian community would shine as a light in the darkness. Ask the Lord to bring peace and stability to the country.

(Click here for more information on Haiti.)

POSTED:  March 30, 2002

March 2002

Articles in this issue:  Reaching the Persecuted, Page 1 | China, Page 2 | Sudan, Page 3 | Saudi Arabia, Haiti, Page 4