ORAN, Algeria — Convicting a Christian convert for insulting the prophet of Islam, a judge in Algeria stunned the Christian community by sentencing him beyond what a prosecutor recommended. In Oran, 292 miles west of Algiers, a criminal court in the city’s Djamel district sentenced Siaghi Krimo on May 25 to a prison term of five years for giving a CD about Christianity to a neighbor who subsequently claimed he had insulted Muhammad. Krimo was also fined $2,760, according to Algerian news reports.
The prosecutor had reportedly requested the judge sentence him to a two-year prison sentence and a fine of $690. “He gave a CD to a neighbor, and for that he has to spend five years in prison,” said the president of the Protestant Church of Algeria, Mustapha Krim, trying to contain his disbelief. Defense lawyer Mohamed Ben Belkacem said that the judge’s verdict was unexpected and heavy, indicating the legal system’s prejudice against Christians.
The lawyer said he plans to appeal the case. Krimo is not required to serve his prison sentence until the court hears his appeal and upholds the conviction. The court delivered its verdict the same week that the governor of the province of Bejaia ordered the closing of seven Protestant churches. Over the May 27–29 weekend, authorities did not interfere with the scheduled worship meetings in the district of Bejaia despite the order for all the churches in the area to close and threats that police could use force.
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