Source: Missions Network News, June 5, 2017
Some of the most dangerous regulations [believers in Algeria face] are the strict blasphemy laws. “The blasphemy laws are used often against people who are expressing their views and religious beliefs on social media,” says [Miles Windsor of Middle East Concern].
That’s how Slimane Bouhafs ended up with a five-year prison sentence.
Bouhafs, a 50-year-old Christian who was formerly Muslim, was convicted of blasphemy on September 6, 2016. According to Windsor, “He was accused of insulting the prophet Mohammed” when he proclaimed his faith on Facebook. Since September, his sentence has been slightly reduced, but Windsor says the government has stubbornly resisted or ignored many of Bouhafs’s appeals.
“We can lobby human authorities, but the most powerful authority that we can turn to is the Lord,” says Windsor.
» Read full story, as well as more about Slimane Bouhafs and his experiences (Open Doors).
» Morning Star News just published a new report about developments regarding blasphemy laws in Pakistan. Evidently the government-run Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) began sending text messages to all mobile phone users warning that “uploading & sharing of blasphemous content on Internet is a punishable offence under the law” and providing a government email address for reporting such content.