Algeria

Church leaders didn’t get an explanation for why the seventh worship building to be closed in Algeria since November was sealed last week, but they suspect lack of registration was the pretext.

Three churches recently closed down by authorities in Algeria’s northern province of Oran were permitted to re-open on Sunday, 10 June.

A case that began with police in Algeria stopping a Christian suspected of carrying Bibles in his car ended yesterday with a large fine for the church leader.

Algerian Christians fear government officials may be coordinating intensified persecution against them following arrests, inspections, and church closures in recent months.

Term reduced to one year, but attorney plans to appeal to Supreme Court.

The family of imprisoned Algerian Christian Slimane Bouhafs has appealed to the Algerian President for a pardon, after he was convicted of “insulting Islam and the prophet Mohammed” in posts he made on social media.

A Christian in Algeria has been sentenced to five years in prison – the maximum term – and given a heavy fine for blasphemy against Islam and its prophet, for a social media post.

Churches in Algeria are facing intimidation and harassment, despite constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of worship in the country.

A Christian man from the Algerian city of Biskra was arrested on Friday by the National Gendarmerie at a checkpoint near Biskra.

Christians are the distinct minority in Algeria, representing less than 1 percent of Algeria's 38 million inhabitants, and often face restrictions when seeking to build new churches.