• Saudi Arabia releases Christian leaders - (28.12.2001)
• Christians still locked up in Jeddah C (27.11.2001)
• Saudi Arabia ignores consular access requests - (05.11.2001)
• Saudi Muslim leader condemns killing of Christians and Jews - (26.10.2001)
• Jeddah officials pressed regarding Christian detainees - (08.10.2001)
• Christian prisoners tortured in Saudi prison - (02.10.2001)
• Christians jailed in Saudi Arabia ask for US help (07.09.2001)
• List of prisoners (30.08.2001)
• Saudi Arabia Cracks Down On Christians In Jeddah (02.08.2001)
• Christians in Saudi Arabia under serious threat - (21.07.2001)
• Report highlights religious restrictions in Saudi Arabia - (21.03.2001)
• Saudi Arabia mocks religious freedom - (11.02.2001)

Alleged ties to ex-Muslims led to crackdown on house churches

by Art Moore

World Net Daily (28.12.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (29.12.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Fourteen expatriate Christians held by Saudi Arabian authorities in Jeddah since last summer were released this week, according to a U.S. monitor of religious persecution.

Nine were freed on Christmas Eve and five on Christmas Day, said Washington, D.C.-based International Christian Concern. The advocacy group did not say why authorities released the foreign workers, who came from the Philippines, Ethiopia, Eritrea and India.

The Saudi Ministry of Interior arrested the men after receiving reports in June of their participation in Christian gatherings that included Saudi converts to Christianity. Saudi law applies the death penalty to citizens who choose to abandon Islam.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bars all public expression of religion apart from Islam. Saudi officials have stated that non-Muslims may worship in private homes, but many house-church leaders have been arrested and deported, human rights groups say. An estimated 15,000 foreign Christians worship in homes across the country.

The men had been employed in Saudi Arabia for several years, International Christian Concern said. If precedent is followed, they will be deported.

Investigation of nine of the Christians began with a citizen's complaint about the presence of a Saudi national at a June 2 farewell party held at a public hall in Jeddah. A group of expatriate Christians were honoring an Indian colleague, Prabhu Isaac, who was considered a leader among the house churches.

Saudi religious police arrested Isaac on July 19 and handed him over to the Ministry of Interior. Six days later, authorities arrested Iskander Menghis, a Christian from Eritrea whose name was found on Isaac's computer. The two men reportedly succumbed to harsh interrogation and revealed the names of church leaders in Jeddah, leading to more arrests in August and September.

The men released with Isaac and Menghis, according to ICC, are Tinsaie Gizachew, Gebeyehu Tefera, Baharu Mengistu, Beferdu Fikre, Teshome Kebret and Mubarek Hussain Keder of Ethiopia; an Ethiopian identified only as Worku; Kebrom Haile and Joseph Girmaye of Eritrea; Afobunor Okey Buliamin of Nigeria; and Dennis Morello of the Philippines. Authorities also freed Genet Haileab, whose country was not identified.

Interrogators beat Buliamin and two unidentified Ethiopians, ICC said, but they treated the others well.

In its most recent country-by-country report on treatment of religious believers, the U.S. State Department said "freedom of religion does not exist" in Saudi Arabia. However, groups that lobby Washington on behalf of persecuted Christians say the kingdom's political and economic importance softens the U.S. government's response.

An independent panel established by Congress in 1998 to promote religious freedom as a U.S. policy goal recommended to Secretary of State Colin Powell in August that Saudi Arabia be designated as a "country of particular concern." That nomination, by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, is reserved for countries that engage in "egregious, systematic, and ongoing violations of religious freedom." Saudi Arabia did not make the State Department's list, however.

Designation as a "country of particular concern" subjects a nation to U.S. diplomatic and economic actions.

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Saudi Arabia turns deaf ear during Ramadan

by Barbara G. Baker

Compass (27.11.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (28.11.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - More than a dozen foreign Christians remain jailed in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, where local authorities have for months ignored inquiries and notes of protest from consulates requesting diplomatic access to their imprisoned citizens.

Saudi officials have refused to give any reason to the consulates of India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Philippines for the detention of the expatriates, rounded up in a series of arrests that began on July 19. Only the Ethiopian Consulate has been issued a list confirming the names of their citizens being held under investigation; the other diplomatic missions only learned of the arrests through relatives of the prisoners.

According to the Ethiopian consular section chief, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided his government with a list of the Ethiopians under arrest in Jeddah about two weeks ago.

"They gave us a list of around nine to 11 people who are detained," the consul told Compass today. "I hope they will also reply as concerning their status in the near future." He said no reason was given why the men had been placed under investigation, and no dates or places of arrest were listed.

Meanwhile, seven more Ethiopians, several of them women, were reportedly detained in early November as they left a house church meeting. At least four were released after producing valid residency papers, the Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC) confirmed, but two without work visas were sent to a deportation center.

According to members of the local Ethiopian community, a man of Yemeni/Eritrean background has been visiting various Christian believers in Jeddah, threatening to "turn them in to the authorities" unless they paid him a bribe.

All legally employed by Saudi companies, the arrested Christians were active in expatriate house churches worshipping in private homes. The Saudi kingdom's strict version of Islamic law prohibits public worship by members of faiths other than Sunni Islam. Although officials claim that Christians are permitted to meet privately for worship, zealous religious police frequently arrest those who do.

"We are not aware of the inside developments," a representative of the Indian Consulate admitted today. "The investigation is over. Probably the report has been sent to Riyadh, so a decision will be made in Riyadh."

Indian national Prabhu Isaac was the first Christian arrested, apparently in an attempt to track down Saudi nationals thought to be in contact with expatriate house churches in Jeddah.

Noting that Isaac's wife was visiting her husband regularly, the diplomat said he did not expect any resolution on the Christian prisoners' case until after Ramadan, when "official work will resume" in Saudi Arabia, he said.

Another diplomat remarked that during the month of Muslim fasting, which began 10 days ago, "The period of work is quite short, and very abnormal." He said most Saudis were only working from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. during Ramadan, and that most government institutions would start closing down within a week in anticipation of Id al-Fitr, one of the two largest religious holidays of the Muslim year.

Some local observers expressed hope, however, that the Christians might be released during the religious feast marking the end of Ramadan, in accordance with the custom of Islamic governments to issue a general amnesty for prisoners jailed on minor offenses.

According to family members allowed to visit the prisoners almost weekly now, the men are being told a variety of reasons for their prolonged detention. One guard told a prisoner's wife that these Christian leaders were not being released yet "because of the American action in Afghanistan," while another said the hold-up was simply a letter coming from the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh.

During the past two weeks, visiting relatives said the prisoners had been told they will be deported "soon" and sent back to their home countries. Since mid October, they have been assured that the investigations against them were finished, and so far none have been charged with any offense before a "sharia" (Islamic law) court.

"We are really at a loss as to how to move forward," a spokesman for the Nigerian Consulate in Jeddah told Compass today. "We have written three or four letters of protest," he said, "and our embassy in Riyadh has intervened as well. But we have not been able to see our citizen up to now."

The Nigerian diplomat said that when Nigerian Afobunor Okey Buliamin is released, he would "definitely" be deported. "Normally, if you are arrested as a foreigner, and you spend some days in detention, the possibility of being released back into Saudi society is very, very remote -- even if you are not charged with any offense."

However, Buliamin's wife told Compass that she was praying that the plan to deport them would be reversed. She said her husband had told her three days ago that some of his fellow prisoners were "depressed and discouraged that nothing is happening" to release them.

"He said to me that he believes that he will not be sent back, that he will be released back to Jeddah, to his home," she said. "But the other brethren, they are discouraged. So we should pray that courage should come back to every one of them!"

The Eritrean Consul General in Jeddah denied any knowledge of the arrest of three Eritrean citizens among the jailed Christians. "I have not received any information until now," the diplomat repeated several times, identifying himself only by his first name, Michael.

"There are a lot of Christians here in Jeddah," he observed, stating there was no problem between the expatriate Christians and other communities in the city.

In a related development, a British citizen formerly employed in Jeddah has confirmed that he was abruptly fired by his company on August 1, two weeks after Isaac's arrest. His company refused to explain the reason for terminating his contract, which had been renewed in June for another two years.

But before he left Saudi Arabia, an acquaintance in the security police told the Briton privately that his dismissal had been demanded by the authorities on the basis of a video confiscated from Isaac's home showing the Englishman preaching.

Saudi Arabia ignores consular access requests

Detention of 12 jailed Christians drags on

by Barbara G. Baker

Compass (05.11.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (06.11.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - At least 12 foreign Christians jailed months ago in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah remain under arrest in the Sharafia detention facility, despite verbal reports that investigations of their case were completed weeks ago.

Diplomatic officials from the five countries whose citizens remain under arrest told Compass that their repeated requests for consulate access to the 12 men have gone unanswered by Saudi authorities.

According to relatives recently allowed to visit the men in detention, the Christians were told by prison staff during the third week of October that their release was to be soon, and hinged only on "an official letter from the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh."

"It is not clear if they will be released only to be deported," a source in Jeddah said.

According to the wife of one detainee, each man's Saudi employer would decide the deportation issue. Over the past decade, Ministry of Interior authorities in the kingdom have advised local sponsors to terminate the contracts of any expatriate employee detained by the "muttawa" [religious police] over alleged religious activities.

As citizens of India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Philippines, the 12 Christians were all legally employed by Saudi companies at the time of their arrests. The string of detentions began in mid July and continued into the first week of September.

All are members of small expatriate congregations meeting for Christian worship in private homes. Under the strict Saudi interpretation of Islamic law, non-Muslims are forbidden to meet for public worship.

Consular officials in Jeddah expressed frustration last week over the Saudi government's blanket refusal to respond to their requests to meet their citizens or learn if any specific charges are being leveled against them.

"There is no development from our side," a representative of the Indian Consulate said on October 31. Indian citizen Prabhu Isaac was the first Christian arrested -- on July 19 -- in the religious police sweep. "He is still under detention, and we are asking the Saudi government for consular access to him," the diplomat said, noting it had been three and one-half months since Isaac's arrest.

"The question now is to find out whether any charges have been framed against him," he said. If that is the case, "Then [those charges] are to be produced in a sharia court. And if he is acquitted, then they will not have any objection if he leaves Saudi Arabia."

An officer in the Nigerian Consulate admitted his government was "terribly, terribly disappointed" to be denied the international right of consular access to Nigerian citizen Afobunor Okey Buliamin. "We are not taking this lightly," he said. "Even if he had committed murder, he should be entitled to consular access!"

"Between our embassy in Riyadh and our consulate in Jeddah, we have sent so many letters of protest, requesting to see this man," the diplomat told Compass on October 31. "But we have not been granted any answer."

He noted that nearly a month ago, the Nigerian consul general had met with the director of protocol in the Saudi Foreign Ministry over the issue. "We were given the promise that they will accelerate granting of the approval,"the spokesman said. "So I don't know what they call acceleration here."

Inquiries from Amnesty International, which released an Urgent Action bulletin regarding the men's incommunicado detention on August 24, have also gone unanswered, a London representative of the human rights group told Compass today. Noting that "personal effects including Bibles were reportedly confiscated," Amnesty had stated that the men "may have been arrested for their Christian beliefs and activities."

The imprisoned Christians, none of whom are in solitary confinement, reportedly have good morale and have all been allowed visits from their families. "Many are detained together, and have better than average conditions for Jeddah jails," a local source confirmed.

"All are in good health now," the source noted, although three of the detained men were said to have been beaten once.

The wife of Nigerian Christian Afobunor Buliamin told Compass that when she last visited her husband on November 3, he had no news as to when he and the others would be released. "But God is moving mightily within them there," she said, "so this is wonderful."

She said their daughter Deborah, who is four years old, asks every morning when she gets up, "Mommy, when are they going to release my Daddy?" Before she goes to bed at night, she said, the little girl prays, "God, release my Daddy. Please release everybody, to come out and stay with their families."

Deborah was at home with her mother and baby brother on August 19 when she saw Saudi police arrest her father and take him away.

On September 30, the Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC) had identified 13 Christians then under arrest: Prabhu Isaac from India; Eskinder Menghis, Kebrom Haile and Yusuf Girmaye from Eritrea; Afobunor Okey Buliamin from Nigeria; Dennis Moreno from the Philippines; and Ethiopians Tinsaie Gizachew, Mesfin Berhanu, Bahru Mengistu, Gabayu Tefera, Beferdu Fikri, Genet Haileab and Worku (surname unknown).

However, according to relatives who have been allowed periodic visits to the detention center, the men said that only 12 Christians are now under arrest there.

According to the 2001 International Religious Freedom Report released October 26 by the U.S. State Department, "The right to private worship still is restricted" for non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia, despite governmental claims to the contrary.

Saudi Muslim leader condemns killing of Christians and Jews

Zenit (26.10.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (30.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Saudi Arabia's top religious leader denounced the slayings of Jews and Christians living in Muslim nations, saying the killings are forbidden under Islam.

"He who kills those who signed the accords and those who received our guarantees of safety will not smell the fragrance of paradise,'' Sheik Abdulaziz al-Sheik said in an interview published Wednesday by the daily al-Riyadh newspaper and monitored by the Associated Press.

The mufti was referring to peace agreements the Prophet Mohammed signed with Jews and Christians living in Muslim territories, in the early days of Islam.

Al-Sheik said such killings would have "grave consequences, including incitement, sedition and undermining security," and that they are "forbidden" under Islam.

The mufti's comments appear to be a response to those of a spokesman for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, who earlier in October threatened the lives of Americans and Britons living in the Persian Gulf.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith said al-Qaida had ordered Americans and Britons to leave the Arabian Peninsula because the "land will burn with fire under their feet, God willing."

Al-Sheik, who is appointed by the king, angered many Muslims by standing virtually alone, among prominent regional clerics, in issuing a religious order, or fatwa, in April -- following several suicide bombings in Israel -- which said that such attacks are contrary to Islamic teachings.

Jeddah officials pressed regarding Christian detainees

Nigerian Consulate promised Saudi response by Wednesday

by Barbara G. Baker

Compass (08.10.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (09.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The head of Nigerian's diplomatic mission in Jeddah went in person to the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs last week to inquire about the prolonged detention of a Nigerian Christian arrested seven weeks ago in the Saudi port city.

Nigerian Consul-General Ahmed Mutawli Ibrahim has been promised a response by October 10 from Saudi officials regarding the consulate's request for diplomatic access to Afobunor Okey Buliamin, a consulate official told Compass today. "We are hoping to see him on Wednesday," the spokesman said.

Buliamin, 40, was arrested without explanation on August 19 at his home, in front of his wife Marion and two children. The "muttawa" (religious police) who took him away at 5 o'clock that afternoon promised they would release him within two hours, his wife said.

According to his consulate, Buliamin has legal residency and employment in Saudi Arabia, where he has worked since 1996. No reason has been given for his arrest, and requests for a diplomatic visit by his consulate have been ignored until now.

However, two weeks ago his wife shamed local officials into allowing her and their children to see Buliamin for a few moments.

"I knew where they were keeping him, but they wouldn't allow me to see him," she said. Whenever I went there, they refused." So on September 23, Marion took her three-month-old son Joshua in her arms, and her four-year-old daughter Deborah by the hand, and stood outside the detention center, located along the boundary of the city's adjacent Sharafia and Ruwais districts.

"I just went on my own, and I was just standing there with the children for one, two hours, crying, because we could not see him," she said. "Whenever anybody was coming, I was telling them I just wanted to see him, to know if he's living or dead. 'I just want to see him,' I told them."

When it became apparent she was not going to leave, local officials relented and allowed Marion and her children to visit Buliamin for a few minutes. "We didn't stay long, we spoke only three minutes maybe. But he was fine. He was really very happy to see the children. He asked everyone to pray for him, and for everyone of them," she said. "So they allowed me, and really, it was a big miracle!"

Buliamin's wife and children were allowed to visit him a second time on October 6, again for just a few minutes. But she said she still had no opportunity to ask her husband the reason for his arrest or when he expected to be released.

"I know that God will release them very soon," she said later that afternoon. "It's God who is in control. He has put them there for a purpose, and He will keep them safe there."

Buliamin is the only Nigerian among 13 foreign nationals known to be detained since mid July in a series of religious police raids in Jeddah. According to local sources, the crackdown is an effort to identify Saudi nationals thought to be in contact with foreign house churches meeting secretly throughout the city.

Under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic laws, non-Muslims are forbidden to meet for public worship, although government officials claim Christians are permitted to worship in the privacy of their homes.

The Christian prisoners include at least six Ethiopians, as well as an Indian national, several Eritreans and a Filipino citizen. All are members of small expatriate churches meeting privately in homes in Jeddah.

Representatives of the Indian, Ethiopian and Filipino consulates confirmed to Compass over the past few days that they have received no information or even a response from the Saudi government about their citizens under arrest.

"I think they will take their own time," admitted a representative of the Consulate of India, whose national Prabhu Isaac was the first Christian arrested on July 19. "So far they have not finalized the investigation."

Isaac's wife is being allowed to visit her husband twice a week, on designated days, he said. "They are all together," he said she told him, "praying together in the cell."

"I don't think the Saudi authorities will be that high-handed, like the investigation in Afghanistan," he told Compass. "They are very liberal here. But there must have been some complaint against Prabhu, so they are investigating that."

The Philippines Consulate has only made verbal inquiries about its citizen, Dennis Moreno, "to avoid getting up the ire of the local authorities," a spokesman said.

Reportedly Moreno's employer has intervened with the authorities, saying that his business is suffering badly from Moreno's absence. A car mechanic, Moreno was maintaining and servicing his employer's fleet of cars in a Jeddah taxi business.

Moreno's wife Yolly was allowed two visits to her husband during September, the consulate confirmed, but after that, "all her attempts to visit were denied." Moreno told his wife that he had not been tortured, the spokesman said.

According to a spokesman for the Ethiopian Consulate, only six Ethiopian citizens are believed to be among the detainees, although he declined to identify any by name.

Middle East Concern (MEC), a Christian advocacy group monitoring the case, has identified seven Ethiopians believed to have been arrested on the following dates: Gabayu Tefera, Tinsaie Gizachew, and Mesfin Berhanu (all on August 19), Bahru Mengistu (August 19 or 20), Beferdu Fikri (August 21), Worku -- last name unknown (September 1), and Genet Haileab Abe -- nicknamed Araya Gesesew (September 3 or 4).

"We don't have any official confirmation," the Ethiopian Consulate spokesman said. "All we have is the information that we collected from the friends and families of these people." He said he had been told that some of the detainees had been allowed visitors, and that others had made contact over the telephone with their families.

According to those in direct contact with the Ethiopian detainees, the jailed Christians all believe they are being held "because of their activities concerning their religion," the consul said.

Three of the prisoners -- Eskinder Menghis, Kebrom Haile and Yusuf Girmaye -- are believed to be citizens of Eritrea, which has no diplomatic representation in Saudi Arabia.

Christian prisoners tortured in Saudi prison

International Christian Concern (02.10.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (05.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - According to Christian sources in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at least three expatriate Christians have been physically tortured in prison. The three men are part of a group of at least 15 Christians arrested during the months of July, August, and September for conducting religious services in their homes.

Though this right is promised by the Saudi authorities in theory, it has not been upheld in practice. Ministry of Interior officials have time and again raided the homes of people suspected of leading Christian fellowships and have confiscated their personal possessions and dragged them off to prison.

While psychological torture and sleep deprivation were previously reported by some of the prisoners, this is the first confirmed report of physical torture from the 15 men. The tortured men are from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Nigeria C countries Saudi Arabia obviously does not think will protest the treatment of their citizens.

International Christian Concern continues to call for the immediate release of the Christian men, most of whose families have not been allowed visitation rights. The 14-year-old son of imprisoned Eritrean Christian, Eskinder Menghis, recently appealed to ICC on behalf of his family: My brothers and my sister along with our mother are facing big problems since my father was arrested on July 25 by MOI agents. We didnt get chance to visit our father, even to hear his voice. We are not able to pay for our schooling and house rent and the provisions in the house are getting scarce day by day.

Though the Saudi government has pledged to US officials that they will release the Christian prisoners, they have not yet fulfilled their promise. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, recently appealed to the American public to act favorably toward Muslims who live in the US. Is this the kind of doubletalk we can expect from Saudi Arabia as a member of the Coalition Against Terrorism? ICC calls on the government of Saudi Arabia to prove their solidarity with the United States by releasing all Christians being held on charges relating to the practice of their faith.

For a list of the 15 imprisoned Christians, please contact ICC at icc@persecution.org.

Christians jailed in Saudi Arabia ask for US help

by Julie Stahl

CNS News (07.09.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (10.09.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The families of Christians jailed in Saudi Arabia because of their faith are turning to the U.S. government for help, a human rights organization said.

Officials in the strictly Islamic nation continued their crackdown on Christian religious freedoms this week, arresting another four foreign nationals for their religious practices.

Fourteen Christians legally working in the country have been arrested since mid-July in raids on their homes. They remain in Saudi custody; but the exact whereabouts of most are unknown. A fifteenth was deported after being tortured to the brink of death.

"It has become clearly evident that the Saudis are deliberately carrying out a campaign of arrests of the Christian leadership, which is being literally swept away," said Richard Braidich of the United Churches of Saudi Arabia in a statement released from the Washington-based International Christian Concern.

None of those arrested are Americans, but the countries from which they come hold little sway over the oil-rich desert kingdom. The Christians believe that the U.S. can have a greater influence over its Gulf ally.

One American Christian, who lived in Saudi Arabia for two years and is representing UCOSA in Washington, said that there is an ongoing concern about the home raids and detainments.

"The U.S. government is the only one that has any clout," said the Christian who asked not to be named. "The believers [Christians] know that."

The Christians are pleading for the U.S. to speak to the Saudis on their behalf to release the people immediately, not deport them and to restore them to their jobs, he said in a telephone interview.

In Saudi Arabia, there is a legalized system by which people are paid according to their nationalities. They are treated the same way in cases like these, said the Christian.

The Indians and Filipinos are treated poorly, but the Africans have it even worse. Of those who have been arrested the whereabouts and condition of the Indian and Filipino only are known.

There is no legal or formal church in Saudi Arabia, where the only religion is Islam. But UCOSA was formed by foreign Christians living in the country as an unofficial association of Christians who practice their faith in small gatherings in their homes.

According to Rev. Steve Snyder, president of ICC, UCOSA is asking for a platform through which the foreign Christian community will be able to address its concerns with the Saudi government.

There is no agency or government liaison to which the Christians can turn to even begin a dialogue, Snyder said. Until now, they have worked through diplomatic channels only.

Snyder and two other Christians representing UCOSA were due to meet with State department officials and U.S. lawmakers late Thursday to present the plight of these Christians and ask for help.

A State Department spokesman said that the U.S. government was "concerned" about the situation.

"It is an issue that we take seriously and we continue to monitor the situation," he said by telephone. He also referred to the State Department report on Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy without constitutional protection for freedom of religion, and such protection does not exist in practice," last year's report on international religious freedom said.

But Snyder and others have charged that the U.S. has been remiss in countering the flagrant human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.

The State Department has ignored the federal U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's recommendation for the last two years that Saudi Arabia be named a "country of particular concern" due to its "systematic, ongoing and egregious" violation of religious freedoms.

Human rights organizations have indicated that they believe the Christians have been arrested in order to extract information from them about local Saudis, who may have secretly converted to Christianity, a crime punishable by death.

The Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to inquiries about the case of the Christians.

At least seven of those who have been arrested have families who are dependent on them. Two have newborn babies at home. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive, which has left the wives of those arrested at a loss to shop and care for their families.

Other Christians are concerned that if they are observed helping those families, they, too, and their families will also be in danger from the authorities.

One 12-year-old, whose father was taken, appealed for help from the international community by email, released through the ICC.

"[I am] begging for your help and support for my father, Dennis Moreno-Lacalle, who had been interrogated last August 29...by the three government policemen," wrote Jedidiah John.

"Our house was ransacked and one Bible and some musical instruments [were] confiscated...We went already to the prison, but these people in the prison keep...hiding him. Please, have mercy for us here...Please, please help," he wrote.

List of prisoners

Middle East Concern (30.08.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (30.08.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Here is the list of Christians, all foreigners, who were in prison in Saudi Arabia by the end of August:

Saudi Arabia Cracks Down On Christians In Jeddah

by Julie Stahl

CNS News (02.08.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (02.08.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - America's strongest Gulf ally, Saudi Arabia has been cracking down on religious freedoms, watchdog organizations said after two Christians residing and working there were arrested recently for reasons related to their faith.

Nevertheless, the U.S. has been lax in dealing with these abuses, several organizations have charged. Rev. Steven Snyder, president of the International Christian Concern, a Washington-based human rights organization, charged that the Saudi government is infringing on the rights of Christians to practice their faith and said only Muslims are allowed to practice their religion in the country.

"It appears that the Saudi authorities are extremely paranoid about protecting Islam in their country," Snyder said in a telephone interview.

However, there should be no restrictions on anyone who wants to practice their faith. These people are being treated as criminals and drug dealers, he added.

Eskinder Menghis, an Ethiopian working in Saudi Arabia was arrested a week ago in a midnight raid on his home. Bibles, books, family photos, video and audiotapes were confiscated from his home, according to the ICC and other organizations.

A week earlier, Prabhu Isaac, a Christian hospital worker who had lived in the country for 10 years with his wife, was arrested under similar circumstances, dragged from his home in the middle of the night, by the Muttawa, religious police.

Isaac's arrest apparently stemmed from a gathering of some 400 people in June at which the group reportedly sang hymns and listened to a sermon at a private gathering.

Among Isaac's belongings, which were seized at the time of his arrest, was his computer. On it were the names and addresses of some 29 other Christians in the country. One of those names was that of Menghis.

It is not clear where Menghis is at this time. Isaac is reportedly being held in the Farifia prison outside of Jeddah, but has not been allowed any contact with his Indian Embassy.

Other Christians in the country are now fearful that they too, might be arrested.

One-third of the population of Saudi Arabia is foreign workers, many of whom are Christians from the Philippines, India, North Korea and elsewhere. They are not permitted to display any Christian symbols or Bibles, nor are they allowed to meet together publicly to worship or pray. There are no churches in Saudi Arabia.

There are some 600,000 Roman Catholics in the country, for instance, who for the entire length of their stay, which can be years, never see a priest and can't receive a sacrament.

According to the ICC, some Christians have reported that upon entering the country their personal Bibles were taken away and placed into a paper shredder before their eyes.

Nina Shea, director of the Washington-based Center for Religious Freedom, said that previously the Saudis had a policy of deporting Christians caught practicing their faith illegally. But with the arrests of Menghis and Isaac, watchdog organizations are worried that the desert kingdom may be tightening its grip on religious freedoms.

"We're concerned that this is a shift in policy," Shea said by telephone. She noted that the only Christians in the country are foreigners.

"Citizens [of Saudi Arabia] are not allowed to be Christians, [henceforth] there are no known Saudi citizens who are Christians," Shea added.

Negligent U.S. Response

In addition to the arrest of the Christians, the lack of any U.S. measures to counter the flagrant human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia has been dismaying, Snyder said in a press release.

"It is time we stood up for the values we believe are 'self evident' or otherwise be prepared to face the fact that one day we too will have to surrender our own rights to the oppressors," he added.

The U.S. government has been slow to take measures against the oil-rich kingdom's violation of religious freedoms, agreed Steven McFarland, executive director of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The federal government commission, created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, monitors religious freedom worldwide and advises the president, the secretary of state and Congress on how best to promote it.ccording to the State Department's report last year on International Religious Freedom, "Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy without constitutional protection for freedom of religion, and such protection does not exist in practice."

For the past two years, the USCIRF recommended to the previous administration of former President Bill Clinton that Saudi Arabia be designated on the list of "countries of particular concern," but the recommendation was ignored, McFarland said in a telephone interview.

"The failure of the past administration to name Saudi Arabia did significant damage to the truth-telling mandate of the law," he said.

This October will be the Bush administration's first opportunity to make a decision on whether or not to place Saudi Arabia on the CPC list.

A nation is designated as a "country of particular concern" based on what is defined as a "systematic, ongoing and egregious" violation of religious freedoms. Countries already on that list include China, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar and Sudan.

Once a country is placed on the CPC list the president is responsible to report to Congress and U.S. citizens about what action he intends to take.

There are 15 different grades of measures, which can be applied in the diplomatic, cultural and economic spheres ranging from a private diplomatic rebuke to a veto of international financial assistance. The president may also suggest other measures.

The president can also decide to waive any sanctions based on other U.S. interests that go beyond the human rights realm. It is at this point he can say the U.S. can't afford to offend Saudi Arabia, McFarland said.

Christians in Saudi Arabia under serious threat

International Christian Concern (21.07.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (24.07.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Last week International Christian Concern reported the arrest of Prabhu Isaac in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Indian hospital worker is now facing charges for "proselytizing Muslims" and has been under severe pressure by the Ministry of Interior (MOI) to betray all the Christians by providing the names and addresses of all his Christian associates.

In a conversation with Prabhu's wife, Socilia, last night, ICC sources in Saudi Arabia learned that the MOI is charging Prabhu of "converting Saudis to Christianity" and could face a lengthy prison sentence. Socilia wept as she apologized for her husband's betrayal of the other Christians. "He just couldn't take the severe pressure they were putting him through," she said. She also lamented that the authorities took her lifetime collection of photos and would like to have them returned.

The charges against Prabhu stem from a Thanksgiving farewell celebration that was held on June 28 in honor of Prabhu, an Indian national, for his 17 years of faithful service in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prabhu worked in the hospital in Jeddah. His friends rented a public hall (Makkah Hall) where the celebration took place. Being a public hall, there was no way to control who was coming and going. The MOI was falsely informed that it was a Christian gathering with the intention of proselytizing Muslims.

ICC's Mark Daniels, in an appeal for action, said: "The question remains, will the U.S. government tolerate the Saudi's Gestapo-like tactics against a common Christian civilian who has worked 17 years for the people of Saudi Arabia, only to be treated in this manner by that same government? International Christian Concern is calling on the Christian community to protest this action and for the U.S. government to demand the Saudi government release Prabhu and offer an apology to the Christian foreign nationals working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After all, Saudi Arabia is considered an ally of the United States, a country defended by American young men and women in uniform. Should we not expect that Saudi Arabia be tolerant and protective of Christians living peacefully within their country, no matter what their nationality? In a tearful plea to the rest of the world, Socilia Isaac pleaded, "Please, help my husband."

ICC is urging Americans to call the office of Secretary of State Colin Powell at: 202-647-4000 and request that the U.S. government take immediate action.

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Report highlights religious restrictions in Saudi Arabia

WRSN (21.03.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (22.03.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The first-ever report regarding the state of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia compiled by Saudi citizens was released January 30. Detailing repression of the many minority Islamic sects in Saudi Arabia, the document reports persecution ranging from excessive government regulation and discrimination to the arrest and torture of clerics.

"This is a very significant event," says John Graz, secretary-general of the International Religious Liberty Association. "The role played by Saudi citizens in gathering information and compiling this report demonstrates that there is a core group of Saudis who do not accept their government's policy of negation of human rights and denial of religious freedom."

There is no constitutional protection of religious freedom in this Middle Eastern country, and Islam is the official state religion. Although private worship by non-Muslims is permitted, proselytism is strictly forbidden.

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Saudi Arabia mocks religious freedom

Three Christians detained for almost 2 months in Saudi Arabian prison

International Christian Concern (11.02.2001) - HRWF International Secretariat (13.02.2001) Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net -Almost three months since their arrest, the fate of three Filipino Christians remains unknown. On December 8, 2000 at 2:00 PM, 12 Filipino Christians were meeting for lunch in a house in the Malaz area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Escorted by a Muslim leader, Muttawa (enforcers of Islamic law) and uniformed. Saudi policemen raided the Filipino residence, demanding to see everyone's documents.

Coercion was applied by the Muslim leader, supported by the Muttawa. Six of the Christians were then taken into custody by the Saudi Ministry of Interior (MOI) in Riyadh near Channel 2 TV, Takassusi district. One married couple was released the same day, followed by one other un-named individual. Today, seven weeks later, three of the Christians remain in custody and no one has been allowed to see, according to the Philippine embassy. The embassy has received reports from the MOI that the prisoners "are being treated well."

It has also been reported that the Muttawa forced these three men to sign documents written in Arabic (of which they don't speak or read) consenting to the fact that they committed some crimes. It is known that the Saudi's have done this on a multitude of occasions over the past 20 years - having people falsely confess that they were drug traffickers, etc. It is feared that these men could now be facing trial based on false and yet unknown charges. It is known that the couple that was released was coerced to sign Arabic documents stating they would never again meet with other Christians in this manner.

The following are the names of the individuals that are being held by the Saudi authorities since December 8th, 2000 (including employer):

• (1) Jose Garcia, Royal Saudi Airforce-Riyadh, SA
• (2) Ernesto Miranda, JS Jewellery-Riyadh, SA
• (3) Marlon Blando, Diplomatic Quarter-Maintenance Dept, Riyadh, SA

Eight months prior to this arrest, an article published on April 7, 2000 in the Saudi Arab News, Prince Doctor Turki ibn Mohammed Saud Al-Kabeer, assistant under-secretary for political affairs in the Foreign Ministry and head of the general administration for international bodies made the following statements regarding religious freedom in Saudi Arabia:

• 1. "Non-Muslims are also granted full freedom to practice their religion in private and no non-Muslim has ever been harassed for his belief while anyone who harasses them is punished."

• 2. "Both citizens and expatriates are granted equal rights of freedom of expression and assembling as long as they do not disrupt public order and propriety."

• 3. "Non-Muslim expatriates in the Kingdom enjoy[ing] equal rights, with the Muslim without any discrimination."

Given the statements above made to the UN Human Rights commission's 56th sitting, it is evident that the Saudi's continue to mock the UN and the world by their blatant disregard - even for their own statements. They continue to abuse expatriates and their religious freedoms on their own soil while making big claims of openness to the world. In a world where religious rights are taken for granted, it appears that the Saudi continue in their intolerance of even small home-group meetings of Christians, while displaying an insidious air of freedom.

In regards to the supposed religious freedoms in Saudi Arabia, Prince Turki has stated that, "numerous channels for freedom of expression in accordance with the open door policy of the Kingdom which means that, all state officials have an obligation to receive citizens and

others and listen to their views and complaints."

ICC, as well as it's contacts in Saudi Arabia, have yet to even obtain the fax number for Prince Turki, and his address and contact information eludes all known Christians in Saudi Arabia. Even the US Embassy has failed to gain access to this prominent Prince.

ICC and Christians in Saudi Arabia (as well as around the world) are asking the Saudi's for the following:

• 1. That these 3 Filipino Christians be immediately released, without deportation, to be put back into the service of their respective employers. [This is the 2nd or 3rd such incident in the last year of unjustified Christian imprisonment in Saudi Arabia leading to the

individual's loss of employment, and subsequent deportation.]

• 2. Immediate access to Prince Turki, as well as to the supposed human rights channels that have been put into place.

• 1. That Saudi Arabia put forth a formal statement of their future human rights intentions, including how the world is to gain access to them in the future, as well as the channels of accountability.

Because the three men in prison do not have families in Saudi Arabia, the MOI have completely denied access to them by friends. Of course their friends are reluctant to even ask for visitation for fear of they too will be subject to interrogation and deportation.

Please pray for these men as they remain incarcerated, unable to have contact with their families in the Philippines. It is known that in 1998, as Christians were held in prison, the Saudi resorted to extortion and torture to gain information on the "underground" churches. Pray that the Saudi's would learn to adhere to their own word in providing protection for those Christians who would assemble peacefully for private worship. Pray for their families in the Philippines who know little of their detainment or well-being.

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Saudi Arabia Mocks Religious Freedom

Three Christians Detained for Almost 2 Months

International Christian Concern (26.01.2001)/ HRWF (01.02.201) Email: info@hrwf.net - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Almost two months since their arrest, the fate of three Filipino Christians remains unknown. On December 8, 2000 at 2:00 PM, 12 Filipino Christians were meeting for lunch in a house in the Malaz area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Escorted by a Muslim leader, Muttawa (enforcers of Islamic law) and uniformed Saudi policemen raided the Filipino residence, demanding to see everyone's documents.

Coercion was applied by the Muslim leader, supported by the Muttawa. Six of the Christians were then taken into custody by the Saudi Ministry of Interior (MOI) in Riyadh near Channel 2 TV, Takassusi district. One married couple was released the same day, followed by one other unnamed individual. Today, seven weeks later, three of the Christians remain in custody and no one has been allowed to see, according to the Philippine embassy. The embassy has received reports from the MOI that the prisoners "are being treated well."

It has also been reported that the Muttawa forced these three men to sign documents written in Arabic (of which they don't speak or read) consenting to the fact that they committed some crimes. It is known that the Saudi's have done this on a multitude of occasions over the past 20 years - having people falsely confess that they were drug traffickers, etc. It is feared that these men could now be facing trial based on false and yet unknown charges. It is known that the couple that was released was coerced to sign Arabic documents stating they would never again meet with other Christians in this manner.

The following are the names of the individuals that are being held by the Saudi authorities since December 8th, 2000 (including employer): (1) Jose Garcia, Royal Saudi Airforce- Riyadh, SA (2) Ernesto Miranda, JS Jewellery-Riyadh, SA (3) Marlon Blando, Diplomatic Quarter-Maintenance Dept, Riyadh, SA. Eight months prior to this arrest, an article published on April 7, 2000 in the Saudi Arab News, Prince Doctor Turki ibn Mohammed Saud Al-Kabeer, assistant under-secretary for political affairs in the Foreign Ministry and head of the general administration for international bodies made the following statements regarding religious freedom in Saudi Arabia: 1. "Non-Muslims are also granted full freedom to practice their religion in private and no non-Muslim has ever been harassed for his belief while anyone who harasses them is punished."

2. "Both citizens and expatriates are granted equal rights of freedom of expression and assembling as long as they do not disrupt public order and propriety."

• 2. "Non-Muslim expatriates in the Kingdom enjoy[ing] equal rights, with the Muslim without any discrimination." Given the statements above made to the UN Human Rights commission's 56th sitting, it is evident that the Saudi's continue to mock the UN and the
  world by their blatant disregard - even for their own statements. They continue to abuse expatriates and their religious freedoms on their own soil while making big claims of openness to the world. In a world where religious rights are taken for granted, it appears that the Saudi continue in their intolerance of even small home-group meetings of Christians, while displaying an insidious air of freedom. In regards to the supposed religious freedoms in Saudi Arabia, Prince Turki has stated that, "numerous channels for freedom of expression in accordance with the open door policy of the Kingdom which means that, all state officials have an obligation to receive citizens and others and listen to their views and complaints."
• 3.
• 4. Contact: Steven Snyder International Christian Concern Washington, D.C. (301) 989-1708
  icc@persecution.org