Church Building Locked, Leaders Arrested in Sudan

Hardline Muslims upset with presence of Christian worship.

JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – Church leaders in Sudan were detained and questioned last month after Muslim extremists upset about the presence of their worship building locked it shut, sources said. Hardline Muslims locked the building of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) in Al Hag Abdalla, about 85 miles southeast of Khartoum in […]

Heavy Fine Upheld on Appeal by Christian in Algeria

Six-month prison sentence for ‘unauthorized donations’ suspended.

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria (Morning Star News) – A Christian convert from Islam on Dec. 1 received a six-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 100,000 Algerian dinars (US$716) from an appeals court on a conviction of “accepting donations without a license,” he said. Ahmed Beghal (name changed for security reasons) had been sentenced in July to […]

Sudan Detains Bible Shipment, Christian Leaders Say

Customs duty due on religious literature, officials say.

JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – Christian leaders in Sudan said government officials have detained a shipment of Bibles by demanding customs fees from which it is exempt. The Rev. Saad Idris Komi, chairman of the Sudan Pentecostal Church, said customs officials refused to release the Bibles earlier this month after rejecting his denomination’s application […]

Christian in Algeria Sentenced to Prison, Heavy Fine

Convert denies charges related to “shaking faith of a Muslim.”

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria (Morning Star News) – A judge in Algeria on Thursday (July 8) sentenced a Christian to six months in prison and fine of 100,000 dinars (US$740) for allegedly accepting unauthorized donations to spread Christianity, the convert from Islam said. Ahmed Beghal (name changed for security reasons) received the sentence at a court hearing in […]

Gunmen Attack Christian Government Worker in Sudan

Religious affairs ministry advisor beaten for advocating return of church properties.

JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – Masked gunmen in an area south of Khartoum, Sudan attacked a government religious affairs worker at midnight on Friday (July 2) and threatened to kill him for supporting return of church properties to Christians, sources said. Botrous Badawi, a Christian and an advisor to the minister of Sudan’s Ministry […]

Pastor in Algeria Receives Suspended Sentence and Fine

His church building one of three a court orders sealed.

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria (Morning Star News) – Less than a week after a a court in Algeria ordered pastor Rachid Seighir’s church to close, a judge in handed him a one-year suspended sentence and a fine for “shaking the faith” of Muslims with Christian literature at his bookstore, sources said. Pastor Seighir’s Oratoire Church building in the […]

Released from Prison, Algerian Christian Persecuted in Tunisia

Slimane Bouhafs seeks refuge in third country.

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria (Morning Star News) – After Slimane Bouhafs was released from prison in 2018, having served nearly two years for violating Algeria’s blasphemy laws, further persecution drove him to Tunisia. Threats on his life continue there, and he is stuck in legal limbo – missing his daughter’s wedding on Friday (April 2). “My daughter who […]

Christian’s Five-Year Prison Sentence for Facebook Post Upheld in Algeria

Attorney sees anti-Christian bias in verdict.

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria (Morning Star News) – A judge in Oran, Algeria on Monday (March 22) upheld a five-year prison sentence for a Christian convicted of reposting a cartoon of Islam’s prophet on his Facebook account three years ago, sources said. Farid Khemisti, attorney for Hamid (surname withheld for security reasons), said the 43-year-old father of four young […]

Two Christians Sentenced to Prison and Heavy Fine in Algeria

Pastor, bookseller convicted for Christian literature at their store.

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria (Morning Star News) – A court in Algeria has convicted and sentenced in absentia a pastor and another Christian to two years in prison and a heavy fine, accusing them of “shaking the faith” of Muslims with Christian literature at their bookstore, sources said. Pastor Rachid Seighir and Nouh Hamimi learned by a written […]

Christian Leader in Sudan Detained and Beaten, Sources Say

Security personnel suspected of seizing youth leader.

JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – A Christian leader in Sudan was detained and beaten on Friday (Feb. 19) for speaking out against the burning of a church building, sources said. Masked men believed to be national security personnel seized Osama Saeed Kodi, chairman of the Christian Youth Union of Al Jazirah state, on Friday […]