Algerian Authorities Detain Christians Leaving Prayer Meeting

Compass Direct News reports that:

Algerian authorities have charged six Christians with distributing illegal religious material after detaining them as they left a prayer meeting in a western city last week.

The Protestants were charged with “distributing documents to shake the faith of Muslims,” according to a written court summons issued Saturday May 10 prior to the men’s release in Tiaret city. Their first hearing is scheduled for May 27.

During the detainees’ overnight stay at a local police station, officers repeatedly threatened them for converting from Islam to Christianity, one of the Christians said.

“They said we were accomplices and the spies of the Jews, thus we deserve to have our throats cut without pity,” said Djillali Saibi.

Though the court summons did not specify which law the men had violated, the charge quotes a February 2006 law, Ordinance 06-03, internationally criticized for restricting religious freedom. Algerian police and provincial governments have cited Ordinance 06-03 to justify a number of arrests and church closures in recent months.

The full story can be read at Compass Direct News.