Pastor Youssef Ourahmane, vice-president of the EPA, and the church in Algeria request prayer for his scheduled 26 March 2024 appeal of his prison sentence and fine. On 27 November, 2023, Pastor Youssef was sentenced to one year in prison and fined for 100.000 DZD (approx US$ 725).
Pastor Ourahmane is a senior pastor overseeing a number of churches and Bible schools in several areas of the country, in addition to his responsibility as vice-president of the EPA (Église Protestante d’ Algérie), an association of more than 45 Protestant churches.
In March 2023, he was investigated by the authorities, after a small number of Christian families spent three days during a school holiday in a church compound under his supervision. The compound has a small church, which had been sealed in 2019 by an order from the Governor of the province.
Pastor Ourahmane was not informed of the court hearing or the verdict (two years in prison and a fine) until mid-September 2023. He was charged with holding an unauthorized religious assembly (worship) and holding worship in a building not permitted for worship. The charges are based on two articles of the Ordinance to Regulate non-Muslim Worship, enacted in 2006.
On appeal on 19 November there was hearing appealing the verdict. In a verdict announced on 27 November the sentence was upheld. Pastor Ourahmane hs filed a further appeal.
Prosecuting the vice-president of the EPA is an escalation of a campaign, started in 2017, to close Protestant churches and harass leaders. Only a handful of churches are still open. Several Christians, especially church leaders, have faced court cases on different charges.
Prayer Points
Christians in Algeria urge us to pray:
- for the pastor and his family to know the comfort of the Father
- for the EPA and the church in Algeria, to know the wisdom of Holy Spirit in dealing with this campaign
- that the appeal will be successful, that pastor Ourahmane will be acquitted on all charges
- for Algerian church leaders to persevere in the face of increasing challenges for churches and individual Christians
- for the government campaign against the Church and Christians to cease, so that Christians can live in peace and freedom
