ICC Note:

“Algerian Christians report that, over the past few months, they have noticed a significant tightening of restrictions,” the Church Times reports.

By Gerald Butt

6/3/2011 Algeria (Church Times) – The antagonism felt by minority Christian communities in several Middle Eastern and North African countries appears to have reached Algeria. A Christian convicted of proselytising has been jailed, and an order has been issued for the closure of a number of churches. Algerian Christians report that, over the past few months, they have noticed a significant tightening of restrictions.

A court in Oran province in the north-west of the country last week sentenced Siagh Krimo to five years in prison for talking to his Muslim neighbour about Christianity and giving him a Christian CD. He is also said to have defamed Islam. Those present at the trial said that no witnesses or evidence was presented.

In a separate development, the Protestant Church in Bejaia province, in northern Algeria, has been told that seven churches will have to close because they are unauthorised places of worship. Last year, four Protestants were arrested for “practising religious rites without authorisation”.

The Algerian Protestant community is estimated at 10-12,000 — out of a total population of around 33 million. Under a law passed in 2006 regulating religious faiths other than Islam, Christians are permitted to worship only in places approved by the government. A national commission on religious faiths regulates the registration of religious associations. All recent applications for the construction of new churches have been rejected.

In the view of Amnesty International, the law affecting Algerian Christians is “vaguely worded” and could undermine the right of every non-Muslim to freedom of religion. The restrictions set out in the law “appear to have been used especially to crack down on Protestant churches in Algeria, which some national media have suggested are involved in proselytising”.

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