Yemeni news website Sahwa Net reported that Hadni Dohni, a Yemeni Muslim who converted to Christianity, and six "foreigners" are accused of "promoting Christianity and distributing the Bible…" The suspects were apparently detained last week in Hodiada province and transferred to the capital Sanaa where security forces investigate them "to know who support them," the website said.
The publication did not clarify if the Christians were formally charged in a court of law based on the allegations.
US-based rights group International Christian Concern (ICC) with Web site www.persecution.org told BosNewsLife there are an "unknown number of Americans" among them and warned its sources "indicated that the Christians face the possibility of being tortured by Yemeni Security forces."
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"The convert is the one that you need to pray for. The popular method of dealing with converts is to kill them."
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American blogger Isaac Crawford on the imprisonment of a Yemeni Muslim who converted to Christianity.
Isaac Crawford, an American blogger who has been writing from Yemen on his Web site www.isaharr.com told BosNewsLife however he is especially concerned about the Yemeni convert. He, "is the one that you need to pray for. The popular method of dealing with converts is to kill them," Crawford said, adding that the foreigners were likely to face deportation.
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ICC noted that the latest arrests are part "of growing persecution of Christians in Islamic countries," and said believers in Iran, Egypt and Algeria have also seen "a spike in anti-Christian activity." Yemeni officials had no comment.
ICC stressed it has urged supporters to "Please pray for the safety of these seven Christians, and that the Lord will protect them from torture and other types of mistreatment," and "for strength and courage…as they go through this difficult situation…that they will be released quickly."
The group also asked Christians in the United States and around the world to contact American senators via the www.house.gov and www.senate.gov websites or Yemeni embassies in their countries to demand the Christians’ release.
Four embassies were specifically mentioned in the US (phone +1 202 965-4760 or +1 202 337-2017 or e-mail ambassador@yemenembassy.org and political@yemenembassy.org ), Canada (phone +1 613 729-6627 or +1 613 729-8915 and e-mail: info@yemenincandada.org), United Kingdom (Phone: +44 (207) 584 6607 or +44 (207) 589 3350 and e-mail yemen.embassy@btconnect.com) and Germany (phone +49 (030) 897305-0 +49 (030) 897305-62 or e-mail: info@botschaft-jemen.de ).
