In April 2016, Idir traveled abroad to attend a workshop related to the children’s ministry. When he returned at the end of the month, he was stopped and apprehended by customs officials. His crime? He was carrying a Bible, some cross-shaped key rings, and some Christian books.
Idir described his eight-hour detention as police officers pouring over him like rain. “Are you a Christian? Where did you come from? Who gave you these items? Who are they for?” He was allowed no food or water during the interrogation and the police confiscated his Bible and the other items he had brought along upon his return.
He thought his ordeal was over. It was not.
In March 2018, he discovered that a judgment had been handed down in the court of Dar-Wl-Beida five months earlier. He had been found guilty of importing unlicensed goods and sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 20,000 Algerian Dinars.
Idir obtained obtain legal counsel and the prayer support of his Christian friends at his local church. In the meantime, the prosecutor in the case appealed to the court for a harsher sentence.
Nonetheless, the Lord clearly intervened when Idir appeared before a sympathetic judge on July 9th who determined that Idir had been prosecuted solely on the grounds that he is a Christian. The judge pronounced a “total acquittal.” In addition, the judge ordered the government to pay all costs and fees related to the case.
Idir declared, “I am so happy to be free at last. I no longer have to travel all the way to Algiers, about 200 kilometers, to present myself before the judge and to answer false and unjustified accusations.”
Idir’s problems seem to be over, but his pastor, Salah Chalah, who is also the Vice President of the Protestant Church of Algeria, reminded reporters that, “It’s important to remain vigilant until the Church in Algeria can get its full registration and becomes a social reality.”
Sources:
- World Watch Monitor, Algerian ‘happy to be free at last’ after jail sentence and fine for carrying Christian items
- World Watch Monitor, Algerian Christian’s fine for importing crucifix keyrings ‘ridiculous’, says lawyer
- Premier, Christian fined for importing Bible and crucifix keyrings
- Christian Today, Court hands down fine to Algerian man for importing Christian literature and crucifixes
Image Source:
- GoodFreePhotos, Photo via Good Free Photos