Faisal Abdallah
Faisal Abadallah has been released!

Faisal Abdallah, a 39 year old Christian convert from a Muslim background, currently is imprisoned in Khobar prison in Khartoum.  Mr. Abdallah was arrested on May 23, 1997 at 4:00 a.m. at his home in Umbaddah, an area in Omduran, Khartoum.  Immediately after his arrest, officials interrogated Mr. Abdallah and isolated him in the security section of the prison.  Recently, due to the commencement of his trial, authorities have transferred Mr. Abdallah to the general section of the prison where he is allowed to have visitors and attend church services.

Accounts suggest that Mr. Abdallah has been severely mistreated while in prison.  As a result, he complains of kidney problems and head pains and recently received hospital treatment.

Though accused of evangelism, Mr. Abdallah has not formally been charged with apostasy, Section 126 of the 1991 Criminal Act of Sudan.  Mr. Abdallah and fellow defendants have been charged with a total of twelve separate criminal violations for alleged political conspiracy against the Khartoum regime, three of which require the death penalty upon conviction.

Sudanese Christians suggest that government officials concocted the political accusations against Mr. Abdallah in order to provide the only judicial means to execute the former Muslim without rousing international criticism.

Mr. Abdallah originally is from Port Sudan and converted to Christianity in that city in 1987.  During a raid on Port Sudan in 1991, the security police arrested him on account of his involvement with other Christian converts from Muslim backgrounds.  At the time of his release, authorities ordered him to return to Islam and cease his Christian activities in Sudan.

Christians in the Sudan suffer from discrimination instigated by their country's leaders who claim to spearhead an Islamic revolution in Africa.  The Sudanese National Army is attempting to force the Islamic religion on the entire population.  In some cases, persecution involves armed hostilities on the part of the government.  Christians also face discrimination with regards to employment, education, and the new construction or repair of church buildings.  The horrible persecutions endured by Christians in Sudan have been documented in Paul Marshall's book, Their Blood Cries Out, as well as in many non-governmental agency publications.  "Churches have been closed ... Christian children have been forced into re-education camps where they are given Arab names and raised as Muslims ... Many Christians are victims of slave raids and [are] forced to convert to Islam."

Source:  Information supplied by Jubilee Campaign, USA and other sources.

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