Algeria Stalls Appeal of Convicted Christian

Another case of Muslim persecution of Christians. I a Muslim country, a mere accusation by a Muslimis enough to have a Christian arrested for "insulting" just about anything Islamic.

FROM COMPASSDIRECT.ORG:

Algeria Stalls Appeal of Convicted Christian

Court’s indefinite postponement of hearing said to reveal judicial foot-dragging.
ISTANBUL, December 15 (CDN) — A judge’s decision this month to indefinitely postpone the appeal of a Christian sentenced under Algeria’s defamation and anti-proselytizing laws shows how the judicial system keeps Christians locked up without officially punishing or acquitting them, according to sources.

In May a judge in Oran, 470 kilometers (292 miles) west of Algiers, sentenced a convert from Islam, Abdelkrim Siaghi, to a prison term of five years. He had been charged with insulting Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and with “proselytism” for giving a Muslim a CD about Christianity. Siaghi (whose name is also spelled Siaghi Krimo) was also fined 200,000 dinars (US$2,663).

The prosecutor had reportedly requested that the judge sentence him to a two-year prison term and a fine of 50,000 dinars (US$665). The judge instead gave him the maximum sentence.

In Siaghi’s appeal, however, the judge has been unable to find any evidence against him and has postponed hearing dates several times. A scheduled Dec. 1 hearing was postponed indefinitely on that day, when judges were expected to pronounce a verdict, according to Siaghi’s lawyer.

“The process of the [appeal] inquiry is strange since the first judge with the same file gave a maximum sentence – five years of prison and a fine of 200,000 dinars,” said Mustapha Krim, president of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA).

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