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ALGIERS, ALGERIA (BosNewsLife)– Supporters of an Algerian pastor and his co-
worker have urged prayers after an appeal hearing against a lengthy prison term related to their Christian work was postponed.
Pastor Rachid Seighir and Nouh Hamimi were sentenced February 27 to two years in prison for “shaking the faith” of Muslims through Christian literature sold in their bookstore.
The ruling followed a reported raid on the Algerian church-run shop in September 2017. An appeal of the case was scheduled Sunday, for April 18, but “it has now been postponed until May 16,” trial observers said.
It was the latest setback for the pastor whose Christian bookstore and congregation faced legal problems for years in the Muslim nation. In 2008, Pastor Rachid was reportedly convicted of similar charges but acquitted on appeal.
Algerian Christians Receive Prison Sentences In Absentia
03/11/2021 Algeria (International Christian Concern) – Two Christians received two-year prison sentences and heavy fines for “proselytizing” in response to incidents that took place in 2008 and 2017. Pastor Rachid Seighir and one of his congregants, Nouh Hamimi, learned of their punishments via a written notification posted to their church building in Oran.
In September 2017, a bookstore owned by Pastor Rachid, where Hamimi worked as a salesman, was raided by Oran authorities. After finding Christian books, printing machines, and Bibles, the governor closed the bookstore. In 2018 and in 2019, the church won legal cases that ordered the reopening of the bookstore. However, the governor refused to obey the court ruling. The bookstore has remained closed since the original incident.