reportedly sentenced last week to ten months in jail and 300 lashes on charges of "spreading Christianity" in the Islamic kingdom.
In a letter seen by BosNewsLife Sunday, October 31, the All India Catholic Union (AICU) stressed it was "deeply concerned" about Brian O’Connor, a Christian from the Indian state of Karnataka, who human rights watchdogs say was arrested by Saudi Arabia’s feared religious police in March.
"Brian’s arrest and now the sentence of a jail term and lashing have caused deep concern amongst the Christian community in India and the Indian community abroad," added AICU President John Dayal in an open letter to both the Indian and Saudi governments.
APPEAL LAUNCHED
"We appeal to the government of India to urgently intercede with the government of Saudi Arabia for the immediate release of (Brian)," he said.
Besides appealing to King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud "to generously give clemency to O’Connor", the AICU official has sought the intervention of Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, according to Indian news reports.
"Brian has no criminal record at home or abroad. He has been arrested, we feel, just for his religious convictions," he said.
BIBLE STUDIES
O’Connor had reportedly acknowledged that he led Bible studies for expatriate Christians in his home, which is illegal under Saudi Arabia’s controversial policies. The Christian man, is among the estimated six million foreign workers in the country, most of whom are not Muslim.
Middle East Concern (MEC) said that "O’Connor led study sessions for Catholic immigrants from different countries." Following his arrest he "was beaten, tortured and received death threats."
In a recent report the United States State Department referred to these kinds of situations, saying that "freedom of religion does not exist" in Saudi Arabia.
