Algerians on trial for spreading Christianity

Two converts charged with unauthorized prayer and proselytizing

ICC Note

In the latest prosecution of Christians, Algeria pressed charges against two Christians for ‘illegally’ promoting the Christian faith. The Algerian government has continued to clamp down on Christianity. We urge the international community to continue pressuring Algeria to stop restricting freedom of religion for its Christian minorities.

06/25/2008 Algeria (msnbc)-The trial of two religious converts accused of illegally promoting the Christian faith opened Wednesday in Muslim Algeria.

The defendants had been convicted in absentia for illegal practice of a non-Muslim religion in 2007 but asked for a new trial, as Algerian law allows, their lawyer said.

Rachid Mohammed Seghir, 40, and Jammal Dahmani, 36, both converted from Islam to Christianity and are charged with praying in a building that had not been granted a religious permit by authorities, the court said. They are also accused of proselytizing, or trying to spread the Christian faith among Muslims.

Lawyer confident

The lawyer defending the two said she felt confident her clients would not be jailed.

Faiths targeted

The law is viewed as primarily targeted at Protestant faiths, which have become increasingly active in Algeria . It provides for jail sentences of up to five years and a $15,570 fine for anybody trying to incite a Muslim to convert to another faith.

Habiba Kouider, a 37-year-old kindergarten teacher who converted to a Protestant denomination, is also on trial in the central Algerian town of Tiaret , and several other converts are being prosecuted in separate trials.