Algeria: 12 Christians Arrested During Worship as Crackdown Intensifies, Rights Groups Say
Our Correspondent
Twelve Algerian Christians were arrested by security forces during a worship service in a private house of prayer on Wednesday, September 23, in what rights advocates describe as part of a sweeping administrative crackdown on the country’s Christian minority.
According to consistent local sources, the group was detained in the middle of prayers. The women were later released under summons for further interrogation, while the men were held in custody until 3 a.m. under what sources described as intimidating conditions.
The believers are now facing prosecution under Ordinance 06-03 of February 28, 2006, a law that strictly regulates non-Muslim worship. They risk one to three years in prison and fines of 100,000 to 300,000 dinars simply for gathering to pray.
Advocates say the arrest is not an isolated incident but part of a systematic policy that has left freedom of worship on life support in Algeria, in violation of the country’s constitution and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Between 2024 and 2025, almost all 47 places of worship affiliated with the Protestant Church of Algeria, the EPA, the only Protestant institution accredited by the state were sealed and administratively closed by order of regional governors known as walis. More than 50 Christians have been brought before the courts in the last two years, according to church sources.
A legal trap has emerged, campaigners argue stating that all requests for worship authorization submitted by churches remain systematically unanswered, yet Christians are prosecuted for praying without authorization.
Algeria, which is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guaranteeing freedom to manifest one’s religion, ranks 20th on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, placing it in the red zone.
“They don’t burn churches; they close them by decree. They don’t ban the Bible; they criminalize gatherings,” a church representative said. “It is an administrative, legal, and invisible persecution, but just as destructive.”
Rights groups are calling on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Algeria’s international partners to demand respect for its international commitments, the unconditional release of the 12 believers, and the immediate reopening of all closed Christian places of worship.
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