TIARET, Algeria — Algerian authorities have charged six Christians with distributing illegal religious material after detaining them as they left a prayer meeting in a western city in early May.
The Protestants were charged with "distributing documents to shake the faith of Muslims," according to a written court summons issued May 10 prior to the men’s release in Tiaret city. Their first hearing was scheduled for May 27.
During the detainees’ overnight stay at a local police station, officers repeatedly threatened them for converting from Islam to Christianity, one of the Christians said. "They said we were accomplices and the spies of the Jews, thus we deserve to have our throats cut without pity," said Djillali Saibi.
At least 10 Protestants living in or visiting Tiaret have been detained or convicted since February. Approximately half the country’s Protestant congregations have been ordered to close.
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