20101130
africanews

Four Algerian Christians have been taken to court and risk one year in jail each for opening a place of worship without permission, AFP said on Sunday.

The defendants, aged between 35 and 45 years, are accused of opening a Protestant church close to the town of Larbaa Nath Irathen, 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of the capital Algiers, without permission from the authorities.

One of them has also been charged with inviting a French pastor to address a Christian community, without authorization.

“The trial was conducted in good conditions. The prosecutor asked for one year in prison for each of the accused, which is the minimum sentence provided by the law,” the defendants’ lawyer Mohamed Ben Belkacem said.

The verdict was expected on December 12, according to Belkacem.

The practice of religion in Algeria, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, requires authorities to agree to the place of worship and the preacher in terms of a 2006 law.

Several trials have opened against converts to Christianity, for violation of Islamic precepts in the north African country where Islam is the state religion.

There are about 11,000 Christians in Algeria, according to the Ministry of Religious Affairs.