Algerian ‘happy to be free at last’ after jail sentence and fine for carrying Christian items

Algerian Christian Idir Hamdad (World Watch Monitor)
An Algerian Christian given a jail sentence and a fine for carrying a Bible and other Christian items has been acquitted. Idir Hamdad, 29, had been convicted in absentia on 28 September 2017 (though he only learned about this five months later) and given the maximum sentence of six months . . . Read More

Algerian pastor ‘amazed’ as three churches told they can reopen

Algerian pastor ‘amazed’ as three churches told they can reopen
Three churches recently closed down by authorities in Algeria’s northern province of Oran have been told they can reopen. The three churches, located in Oran city, Ain Turk (30km west of Oran), and El Ayaida (35km east of Oran), were closed between November 2017 and February 2018. On Sunday, two . . . Read More

Protestant churches in Algeria call on government to treat them fairly

Protestant churches in Algeria call on government to treat them fairly
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 . . . Read More

Algeria government denies church closures are discrimination

"Notre Dame d'Afrique", the Roman Catholic Basilica in Algiers, Algeria. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The Algerian Minister of Religious Affairs has denied discriminating against the country’s Christian minority by ordering the closure of several churches in recent months. The latest church closures took place last week, as two churches were sealed by police in the north-western city of Oran. A week beforehand, two more churches . . . Read More

Algeria: two more churches closed, others threatened

Algeria: two more churches closed, others threatened
Local authorities in Algeria’s north-western city of Oran have closed two more churches amidst growing pressure on Christians in the Maghreb country. The two churches – L’Oratoire (The Oratory) in Oran’s city centre, and a village church in Layayda (about 40km from Oran) – were sealed off by police on . . . Read More