Photo: Middle East Concern
Pastor Youssef Ourahmane serves as the vice president of the Église Protestante d'Algérie (EPA). Following a three-day gathering with a few Christian families in March 2023, he was charged with organizing an unauthorized religious assembly. In September, the pastor was sentenced to two years in prison, along with a fine. During an appeal hearing in November, the court ruled to uphold the verdict, but reduced the Christian leader's sentence to one year.
The latest appeal hearing for Pastor Youssef has now been scheduled for March 26th. The church in Algeria has requested prayer for him, in hopes that there will be a favourable result from this upcoming hearing. For more information on Pastor Youssef's case, previously published reports are available at our country report.
Please continue to remember Pastor Youssef in your prayers. Ask the Lord to stir the hearts of the court officials so that they would rule fairly during the scheduled hearing – ultimately leading to a favourable outcome for the imprisoned Christian leader. Also prayerfully uphold the many other Christians throughout Algeria who have been facing harassment and church closures in recent years. May God sustain each one of these persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ with ongoing encouragement, wisdom and strength, in addition to providing for their specific individual spiritual and physical needs.
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