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Sudan

• Church Property Ownership Results in Criminal Charges

  

  Eight church leaders are facing criminal charges over a law that puts all church properties under the control of the government. These eight leaders of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) -- including its president, Ayouba Telyan -- were arrested in August 2017 after refusing to turn over control of their church's property to a government-appointed committee. Charges included criminal trespassing and illegal possession of property. For more information on the original ruling, go to this report.

• Christians Consulted by Transitional Committee

  

  On the morning of April 11th, President Omar al-Bashir was removed from power by the Sudanese Armed Forces and a transitional government was set up. The military leadership declared a three-month state of emergency to be followed by a two-year transition period, leading to democratic elections.

• Sudanese Woman Facing Threats

  

  A Christian mother was struck with fear last November when her Muslim brother arrived at the church she attended with a photo of her husband, asking members if they knew where he could be found. Less than two years before, Ebtehaj Mostafa had been tied to a chair in a darkened room. The abductors gave her an ultimatum: return to Islam or they would kill her husband and daughter.

• Apostasy Accusations Against Christians

  

  Sudanese Christians are asking for prayer after a group of 12 believers were arrested on October 13th in Nyala, South Darfur. As the Christians were gathered together, officers from the National Intelligence and Security Services entered and asked if they were Christians. After confirming their faith, all the confessing believers were detained. Upon further interrogation, the three from a Christian background were released but not those who had converted from Islam.

• Release of Church Properties and Bibles

  

  On August 8th, a Sudanese court ruled that properties seized by the government must be returned to the Sudanese Church of Christ (see this page). Following up on that decision, ownership of 19 properties was officially handed back on September 24th.

• Court Ruling in Favour of Church

  

  In a surprising ruling, a Sudanese court has ruled against the government in a long-standing dispute with the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) involving ownership of church property. In his verdict on August 8th, the judge returned the administration of the properties to the church.

• Believers Charged for Protesting Takeover
  
  The SPEC church building in Omdurman, Sudan.
  Photo: Morning Star News

  In April 2017, a group of Christians had gathered to prevent the confiscation and sale of a church-owned school in Omdurman. The three-day protest ended when police arrested a number of the men. Soon afterwards, an armed mob attacked the women remaining at the scene. Several men rushed to aid these women and, in the mayhem, a church elder named Younan Abdullah was tragically killed. For more information, go to this page.

• Church Leaders Fined in Ongoing Campaign
  
  Photo: Middle East Concern

  On February 8th, a court fined seven Christians between 2,500 and 5,000 Sudanese pounds (about $175 to $350 CAD) for resisting the confiscation of a school belonging to the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church in the city of Omdurman. Eighteen other Christians were acquitted. This confiscation follows several other instances of property being seized or destroyed in towns and cities throughout Sudan.

• Christian Refugee Children Denied Food in Camps

  
  Photo: American Center for Law and Justice

  Since early September, Christian children are being denied food in Sudan's refugee camps unless they recite Islamic prayers. A mission aid worker at the camp reports: "The majority (of children) are left in camps, some in a very terrible situation. They are confined in those places. Thus, they are given the choice to starve or they are conditioned to say Islamic prayers before (being) given food. This is not right. These children are Christian. They should be respected for that."

• Church Relinquishment Ordered by Government Officials

  
  Flickr/Joe Pyrek

  On August 23rd, several Christian leaders in the city of Omdurman were arrested and imprisoned for a six-hour period. Rev. Ayoub Mattan, a moderator for the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), and Kuwa Shamaal (also transliterated Kwa Shamaal), head of missions at the church, were among the Christian leaders arrested. Pastor Shamaal, who had been previously arrested on December 18th, and then acquitted on January 2nd of this year, received new charges ranging from spying to inciting hatred against the government.