Sudan: Four Christians charged, 36 others to stand trial

Girl reading her Bible in Sudan where Christians and other minorities are still under pressure despite a change of government in 2019 (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
New charges have been brought against four members of one of the country’s major Protestant denominations. Thirty-six others will appear in court next week on unspecified charges; five others have been acquitted. Azhari Tambra, Mina Mata, George Adem and Kodi Abdulraheem were charged on 11 April with “causing physical harm . . . Read More

Sudanese church leaders back in court

While church properties were returned to the SCOC, other church bodies like SPEC are also in conflict with the government over the ownership of their properties in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
There have been new developments in two ongoing court cases against Sudan’s two main church denominations. On 5 February, a court fined seven leaders from the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) for their “objection to the authorities”. Yohanna Tia, a church elder, was fined 5,000 Sudanese Pounds ($275). Rev. Dawoud . . . Read More

Sudan church leader re-arrested, with at least 6 more, over government pressure for property

Sudan's government continues with the gradual confiscation of properties belonging to, among others, the SCOC and SEPC in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman. In June, Sudanese church leaders risked going public with their concerns by sending an open letter to the government.
A Sudan church leader who already spent Christmas 2015 in prison on charges of “spying” – he was freed due to lack of evidence after 19 days – has been re-arrested for a day, along with five other fellow church leaders. Those arrested belong to the Sudan Church of Christ . . . Read More

Sudan churches risk letter to government on ‘systematic violations’, including church demolition

Sudan churches risk letter to government on ‘systematic violations’, including church demolition
The Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) has written an open letter to the Khartoum government protesting “the systematic violation of Christian religious freedoms”, including the recent demolition of one of their churches in the Suba area of the capital, Khartoum. The SCOC represents about 220,000 of about two million Christians . . . Read More

Part of church compound in Sudan illegally occupied

Unidentified men torched the Sudanese Lutheran church in the town of Gadaref situated in the east of the country late night Oct 17, 2015 when no one was around to douse the flames. Local Christians suspect this to be the handiwork of Muslim extremists who want to eradicate Christianity from the region.
Police and an armed mob occupied part of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) compound last Wednesday (26 April), reports Middle East Concern (MEC). It is the same location where, earlier this month, two church members were stabbed during a protest against appropriation of a school there. The compound in . . . Read More

Sudanese Christian leader fatally stabbed at protest over seizure of church school

Sudanese Christian leader fatally stabbed at protest over seizure of church school
  A Sudanese Christian was killed earlier this week while participating in a peaceful protest against the government’s attempted appropriation of a Christian school. Younan Abdulla, part of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC), was participating in the three-day protest, after the government-linked committee in 2016 authorised the sale of the land . . . Read More

Unlawfully detained for months, Sudan church leaders finally in court

Unlawfully detained for months, Sudan church leaders finally in court
After nearly eight months of legal limbo, a Sudanese court has finally seen three detained Christian leaders, while charges against them remain officially “unknown”. Hassan Abduraheem Taour and Kuwa Shamal, both Sudan Church of Christ (SCC) pastors, and Abdulmonem Abdumawla Issa Abdumawla, appeared at the Bahri Criminal Court for a . . . Read More