Christian Convert Fights Proselytism Verdict in Algeria

Photo: Morning Star News

Christian Not Even Notified of His Conviction; Accuser Absent From Hearing

The attorney for a Christian shocked to learn that he had been convicted of pressuring a Muslim to leave Islam said after an appeals hearing last week that the verdict was utterly unfounded.

Mohamed Ibaouene, 36, learned on Dec. 11 that he had been convicted in absentia on July 4, 2012 by a court in Tigzirt, sentenced to one year in prison and fined 50,000 dinars (US$635). His appeal hearing last week took place in Tindouf, where he held a position with an international business concern, and where a machine operator approached him to ask if he was a Christian.

The machine operator, a hard-line Muslim identified only as Abedlkrim M., later accused Ibaouene of pressuring him to renounce Islam under Algeria's controversial Law 06/03, which restricts religious practice of non-Muslims.

Ibaouene denies the charge, saying the 27-year-old Muslim was the one pressuring him to change his religion, and that Abdelkrim M. leveled the accusation only after Ibaouene, a convert from Islam, refused to renounce Christ. Read more