Christian's Five-Year Prison Sentence for Facebook Post Upheld in Algeria

 By Morning Star News Algeria Correspondent - Posted at Christian Headlines:

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria, March 23, 2021 (Morning Star News) – A judge in Oran, Algeria on Monday (March 22) upheld a five-year prison sentence for a Christian convicted of reposting a cartoon of Islam’s prophet on his Facebook account three years ago, sources said.

Farid Khemisti, attorney for Hamid (surname withheld for security reasons), said the 43-year-old father of four young children appeared to have received the heavy sentence because he was a Christian. The Oran City Court of Justice also upheld his fine of 100,000 dinars (US$750).

“I really hoped for a reduction in the sentence – I expected at the worst, six months in prison,” Khemisti told Morning Star News. “That is the maximum that a fair judgment would have given, but I don’t think my client’s being a Christian made it any easier.”

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