ASIA/SAUDI ARABIA - Anxiety and concern for Indian born Brian Savio O’Connor in prison in Saudi Arabia for possessing copies of the Bible: Christians in India and elsewhere continue to pray while human rights activists launch awareness campaigns

Friday, 17 September 2004

Ryad (Fides Service) - In India there is growing concern among Catholics and human rights activists for Indian born Brian Savio O’Connor, a Catholic, arrested by the Saudi Arabian religious police in March and detained in prison for religious reasons. While prayer chains and international awareness-raising campaigns by various human rights organisations continue, Middle East Concern organisation (MEC) which monitors the situation of Christians in the Middle East region, has reported that on September 15 Mr O’Connor was led before a court for a hearing which lasted 90 minutes. The defendant was charged with four offences: possession of 12 bottles of alcohol; possession of money made from selling alcohol; possession of pornographic videos; possession of Bibles for his activity as a Christian preacher. At the end of the hearing he was taken back to his prison cell without being informed of any verdict, or the date of the next hearing or when his case will be decided.
Mr O’Connor’s family and MEC categorically deny the first three charges but they say that he had some copies of the Bible, including one in Arabic, at his apartment where he used to hold bible study sessions for groups of Catholic foreign workers of different nationalities. O’Connor admitted that he had started praying and reading the Bible at home after it was officially announced that non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia could practice their religion privately at home.
Christians in Ryad, who know Brian, say the charges against him are totally false and were obviously invented so he could be taken to court. They have asked for prayers for Brian that his faith will not waver at this time of difficulty.
In August MEC, which has followed O’Connor’s case closely, reported signs of hope after two officials of the Indian embassy in Ryad and a representative of the governor’s office had been allowed to visit the him. According to MEC, after the visits, all three men said they thought he would soon be released and sent back to India.
In April the Indian Embassy to Saudi Arabia wrote to the government requesting the reason for O’Connor’s arrest, but there was no reply. O’Connor is charged with being found in possession of alcohol and drugs (a claim denied by the family) and to have preached Christianity. O’Connor was arrested in March in Riyadh by the religious police muttawa. He was beaten and tortured and threatened with death unless he abjured his Christian faith. An international chain campaign for his release started in India has spread through Europe and America.
In its 2004 Report on Religious Freedom in the World, the US state department states voices concern that in Saudi Arabia “there is no religious freedom” and it deplores the fact that “this fundamental right is for Sunni Muslims only, it is denied to anyone who follows another religion”.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 17/9/2004 lines 45 words 470)


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