The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed concern at efforts to limit the religious rights of Christians through a number of recent court judgments in Algeria, a country in north Africa which has a large number of Christians.
After three separate court judgments against Christians in an Islamic majority country, Nadine Maenza, Chairperson of the USCIRF, stated that the verdicts against Christians demonstrate that Algeria "is headed in the wrong direction. The following is a summary of the events provided by Baptist News:
- In March, a 42-year-old Christian convicted of disrespecting Islam's Prophet Mohammad, Hamid Soudad was sentenced by the Court of Justice of the City of Oran to five years in jail for him.
- On 6 June, the court of Oran convicted Rachid Mohamed Seighir, a pastor and library owner, of "publishing, stocking or distributing literature" which was deemed harmful to the Muslim religion for one year in jail.
- And a court in Oran ruled separately that three Protestant churches shuttered in 2020 by the government be closed. The order is now under appeal in court.
The court rulings, according to Frederick A. Davie, commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, "are blatant attempts to deny Algerian Christians their right to freedom of religion and belief."
Davie thus urges U.S. government officers to "to attend the appeals for these rulings to demonstrate our firm commitment to religious freedom for Christians and all religious minorities in Algeria."
According to the 2021 report of the commission, Algeria's Christian community comprises Roman Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, Methodists, Evangelicals, Lutherans, Reformed Church, and Coptic Egyptians.
The report further states that Algeria restricts the free speech and practice of religion through enforcing regulations that favor Islam in particular and that prohibit or restrict participation in religious activities. Blasphemy is punishable under Article 144 Section 2 of the Criminal Code, which mandates up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 100,000 DA ($753) in addition to other penalties.
In recent years, a lack of government registration caused several Protestant churches to be shut down by authorities, although these churches had requested for registration and had never received any answer from the authorities. In 2020, the government will continue shutting up churches and restrict the ability of Christians to worship.
Churches have also reportedly been subject to stricter COVID-19 restrictions than mosques. After a national shutdown of all worship venues in response to the outbreak, the Government of Algeria issued an order in August to reopen the mosques with over 1,000 followers. There was no mention in the decree concerning churches.
The Tebboune Administration also collected in July information on the religious affiliations in the province of Tizi Ouzou and the names of Christian and Atheist teachers, and reportedly submits the list to the Directorate-General for Intelligence and Security of France.
For these reasons, USCIRF proposed that Algeria be on a "Special Watch List" by the State Department, for its involvement in or tolerance of serious breaches of religious freedom under the International religious freedom Act (IRFA).
