ICC Note:  Beginning last fall, the Algerian government has intensified a campaign leading to the closure or threat of closure of a number of churches. These churches are affiliated with an officially recognized organization that links together 45 Protestant churches. The authorities have also increased pressure on individual Christians, with a number of believers having received prison sentences. The church is calling for the authorities to treat all Algerians equally and fulfill its legal commitment to religious freedom.                   

05/24/2018 Algeria (World Watch Monitor) – The organisation linking 45 Protestant churches in Algeria, l’Eglise Protestante d’Algérie (EPA), has called on the Algerian government to lift its measure for closing down churches, and to give equal treatment under the Maghreb country’s constitution.

“As full citizens, we call on the highest authorities in the country to ensure that all the fundamental rights of the citizen are protected, regardless of their religious affiliation”, said EPA, in a statement on 18 May.

Since November, four churches have been closed down: three churches – all affiliated to EPA – in Oran and one in Akbou.

A number of other churches have received notifications to close down immediately.

EPA had been officially recognised by the government since 1974. But in 2012 new laws meant that it had to re-register. Despite meeting all the legal requirements and applying for re-registration in 2013, the EPA is yet to receive a response, meaning, technically, it lacks official legal status.

EPA denounced this as an “injustice” against its communities. It said “the churches located in Ain-Turk, Layaida, and Oran-city, were sealed off as directed by the Prefet of Oran, respectively on 17 November 2017 and on 27 February 2018, at the same time as two women’s association – thanks to the mobilization of civil society – have been authorized to re-open their doors. But strangely not the Christian religious associations” in the statement signed by the President of EPA, pastor Mahmoud Haddad.

The Algerian government has been criticised for discrimination against the country’s Christian minority. Churches and individual Christians have faced increased restrictions in recent months, raising concerns that these pressures signal a “coordinated campaign of intensified action against churches by the governing authorities”, according to Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern.

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