Christians in Algeria are asking for prayer for 12 Christians, women and men, who were detained and interrogated by the police and will probably face charges.
On 4 September 2026, a special police force raided a humanitarian institute approximately 25 km east of Oran, where the Christians used to meet. The multi-building institute has a chapel where the group formerly met, but it was sealed by court order in the summer of 2021. Since then, the group has met in an attached private building.
The police had a search warrant and confiscated the individuals’ identity documents, personal phones, and all Christian literature found at the premises. These items have not been returned to them.
The men were kept at the police station until the early morning hours of the following day and were intensively interrogated. The women were allowed to return home and were asked to come back the next day for interrogation. They were told that they would face charges and appear before a court.
Based on similar cases, the charges could be brought under Ordinance 06-03, which regulates the worship of non-Muslims. They could include “holding non-Muslim worship without permission” and “holding worship in an unauthorised place.” Christian literature could also be used as the basis for charges of “agitating or shaking the faith of Muslims.” If convicted, those charged could face imprisonment of 2–5 years and heavy fines.
A systematic campaign targeting Protestant Christians and churches in Algeria, which began at the end of 2017, continues to intensify. All but one of the 47 Protestant churches affiliated with the EPA (Église Protestante d’Algérie — the organisation representing most Protestant churches in Algeria) have either been sealed by the authorities or forced to close. More than 50 Christians, especially church leaders, have faced legal prosecution on religion-related charges and have had to close their churches because of threats and intimidation.
Prayer Points
Algerian Christians ask us to pray:
- for the church members and their families, that they would know the comfort of the Father and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit;
- that the church leaders will face no further legal proceedings and will be acquitted if brought before the courts;
- for Algerian church leaders to persevere in the face of increasing challenges to churches and individual Christians;
- that the government campaign against Christians and other affected communities will cease, so that they can live in peace and freedom.
