Twelve Christians attending a worship service in Algeria were detained for allegedly conducting unauthorized religious activity.
Morning Star News reported Algeria’s special police force, executing a search warrant Sept. 4, raided the service at the House of Refuge shelter in L’Ayaida and detained all 12 Christians present.
Read more stories on the persecuted church.
The shelter serves “vulnerable women and their families,” the news outlet said.
Authorities ordered the shelter’s worship center closed in 2019, so the Christians have since met in apartments on the premises.
Though the 12 were released, “Christians fear the detainees could be charged under [an] ordinance governing non-Muslim worship in Algeria, which heavily criminalizes collective worship outside the officially approved state framework,” Morning Star reported.
Prison time, closed churches
The ordinance mandates prison for 2–5 years and fines of $3,745 to $7,490, and Morning Star said it also orders non-Muslim worship centers to be licensed; though license applications tend to be delayed.
Open Doors, according to Morning Star, said nearly all 47 Protestant Church of Algeria sites have been ordered closed or were sealed.
Only 0.3% of Algeria’s population is Christian, and the country is No. 20 on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the 50 places most difficult to be a Christian.
Share with others: