A court on 3 May withdrew a six-month prison sentence but upheld a fine on a convert from Islam for carrying Christian literature and some crucifix-shaped keychains into the country.
Idir Hamdad was fined after a judge ruled he was guilty of importing unauthorised items without a licence. He had been held for eight hours without food or water at the airport when he was questioned. He was also told to reconvert to Islam by security at the airport.
Algeria: day-care closed
World Watch Monitor
Authorities in Algeria’s north-eastern city of Tizi-Ouzou, in the Kabylie region, closed down a day-care centre for Christian children on 17 April.
It was established 14 years ago by The Full Gospel Protestant Church, which has 1,200 at its weekly services and oversees 15 other smaller churches. The authorities accused Pastor Salah Chalah of ‘unlawfully’ running the centre, which has been ordered to remain closed ‘until the situation is administratively settled’.
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