ICC NOTE: Czech citizen Petr Jasek was imprisoned in Sudan for filming instances of Christian persecution within Sudan’s borders. Sudanese authorities arrested him in December and will face trial under Sharia Law as it is the law of Sudan which makes the case a difficult one. According to reports he is also charged with crossing the border illegally. Jasek’s case can be taken as a sign of just how serious Sudan is toward not only eliminating the Christian presence in the country, but stopping any opportunity for the evidence to reach other nations. The Czech government is working to gain his release but no progress has been made on the matter. Jasek joins two Sudanese pastors who have been in prison for over 70 days as they were taken by the Sudanese intelligence agency without charge. Both pastors were detained for being Christians and operating as such within their communities. 

3/11/2016 Sudan (The Christian Times) – A Czech man named Petr Jasek has been imprisoned in Sudan for filming the persecution of Christians in the country, according to Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD).

So far, diplomacy’s efforts to have 52-year-old Petr Jasek freed have been in vain. He was thrown into prison in Sudan in December and may face trial in March, the Prague Monitor reports.

Petr Jasek’s video is being used as a major piece of evidence against him. In the video, a man is seen describing how he got his burn wounds. While Jasek said the Christian man was violently attacked by Muslims, the man has denied such an incident. The man claimed the accused had just misinterpreted his words because he got the injuries from a car accident, the report relays.

Jasek’s case is difficult because Sudan’s legislation is inspired by the traditional Islamic Sharia law. In addition, he has reportedly been accused of crossing the state border illegally.

The diplomats who have tried and failed to broker Jasek’s release say they are not sure what sentence will be handed to Jasek.

A spokeswoman for the Czech Foreign Ministry said they have been working on the case, but declined to release more details to avoid affecting the upcoming trial in Khartoum.

“I can only say we have been dealing with a consular case in Sudan,” ministry’s spokeswoman Michaela Lagronova said.

Petr Jasek came to Sudan with the aid of U.S. group Voice of Martyrs to help Christians in the Islamic country.

In December 2015, two missionaries were held without charges in Sudan. Authorities arrested Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) head of missions Kwa Shamaal on Dec. 18 and released him three days after. SCOC moderator Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor, however, is still detained, according to the Baptist Press earlier in February.

The two pastors were reportedly arrested for spreading the word that Christians were being persecuted in the country, the report adds.

Sudan currently ranks eighth on the Open Doors’ 2016 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the worst persecution.

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