Christians in Algeria request prayer for three believers from the Oran area, who face appeal hearings soon.
The first, Hamid Soudad (43), was sentenced to two years in prison and fined for blasphemy on 21 January. In 2018 he had shared a caricature of the Prophet of Islam on social media. He is married with four children (ages 6, 4, 3 years and four-months-old). The appeal will he heard on 22 March.
The other two, Pastor Rachid Seighir of a church in Oran, and Noah Hamami, who assists him in a book and stationery shop, were convicted in absentia on 27 February of “proselytising.” They were sentenced to two years in prison and fined. In September 2017, police raided the bookshop, finding Christian books, publications (including Bibles) and printing machines. The appeal is scheduled for 18 April.
Christians in Algeria observe an increase in the ongoing government campaign against the Church. Thirteen churches have been sealed, Christians have been harassed through the legal system and Protestant churches must remain closed when all other places of worship have been allowed to reopen under COVID-19 regulations.
Christians in Algeria ask for prayer:
- that the three Christians will know the peace of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit
- for justice, that the all three will be acquitted from all charges
- for the campaign against the church and Christians to cease, that churches will be reopened
- those responsible for the persecution of Christians will know the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness and new life offered by Jesus.
