Three Christian missionaries working in Sudan were arrested for missionary work among Muslims. One of the missionaries was from the Czech Republic and he was sentenced to life in jail. The other two, who are Sudanese, were sentenced to 12 years each:
A judge in Sudan on Sunday (Jan. 29) sentenced Czech aid worker Petr Jasek to life in prison and two other Christians to prison terms of 12 years on charges related to “espionage,” a defense attorney said.
“Petr Jasek was imprisoned for life,” attorney Muhanad Nur told Morning Star News.
Along with the life sentence for espionage and waging war against the state, Jasek was also sentenced to six months in prison for spreading false rumors undermining the authority of the state (“spreading false news aimed at tarnishing the image of Sudan”) and a fine of 100,000 Sudanese pounds (US$16,000) for working for a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Sudan without a permit. He was also sentenced to one year in prison each for inciting strife between communities, entry in and photography of military areas and equipment and illegal entry into Sudan.
In Prague, the Czech Foreign Ministry said the verdict was without basis, according to The AP. It reported that a deputy foreign minister will travel to Sudan to try to negotiate Jasek’s release, and that the foreign minister is prepared to go also if necessary. The Foreign Ministry said Jasek was in Sudan only to help Christians.
Also on Sunday, the court in Khartoum convicted the Rev. Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and Abdulmonem Abdumawla of Darfur for assisting Jasek in the alleged espionage, causing hatred among communities and spreading false information, Nur said. They received 10-year sentences for espionage-related charges, and two years of prison for “inciting hatred between sects” and “propagation of false news.” The sentences are to be served consecutively.
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Most SCOC members have roots among the ethnic Nuba in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan’s South Kordofan state, where the government is fighting an insurgency. The Nuba along with other Christians in Sudan face discrimination, as President Omar al-Bashir has vowed to introduce a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and Arabic language.
Harassment, arrests and persecution of Christians have intensified since the secession of South Sudan in July 2011. The Sudanese Minister of Guidance and Endowments announced in April 2013 that no new licenses would be granted for building new churches in Sudan, citing a decrease in the South Sudanese population.
Sudan since 2012 has expelled foreign Christians and bulldozed church buildings on the pretext that they belonged to South Sudanese. Besides raiding Christian bookstores and arresting Christians, authorities threatened to kill South Sudanese Christians who do not leave or cooperate with them in their effort to find other Christians. (source)