Christian released from prison in Algeria after serving blasphemy sentence

Slimane Bouhafs, 51, was arrested and imprisoned in July 2016 and was released on 1st April 2018 having served his sentence.

He was imprisoned for publishing material on Facebook which was deemed by the authorities to be insulting to Islam. Algeria’s Constitution establishes Islam as the State religion and the law criminalises blasphemy (insulting the Prophet Muhammad or any messenger from God, or denigrating any of the teachings or precepts of Islam). 

On 7th August 2016, a month after his arrest, he was given the maximum sentence for blasphemy of five years’ imprisonment and a fine of approximately $850. In an appeal verdict delivered on 6th September 2016 the sentence was reduced to three years and the fine was dropped. On 4th July the following year a partial presidential pardon led to a further reduction of his prison sentence by 16 months because of Slimane’s critical health needs.

He had been in Constantine prison, in an area of Eastern Algeria known for its conservative Islamic values when he was attacked by fellow inmates after defending his Christian beliefs following a sermon by an Imam which incited hatred towards Christians. Following this attack, and also because of deteriorating health, his family requested a transferred to a prison in his home area. The application was initially turned down but he was subsequently moved to two different…