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Eritreans Arrest 30 Christians for Participating in Wedding Ceremony
From Compass DirectPolice disrupted a Christian marriage ceremony in the Eritrean town of Senafe on Sunday, July 25, and arrested 30 guests and members of the wedding party. Charging in and demanding a halt to the ceremony, police officers ordered everyone who was not a "Pente" (a derisive abbreviation for "Pentecostal") to leave the place immediately. Many of the guests did so, but the 30 evangelical Christians who remained were hauled off to a police station. Yesterday, all but two of the prisoners were released after signing a document promising not to participate in any evangelical Christian wedding in the future. Police continue to hold an evangelist, identified as Michel, of the Kale Hiwot church and Teame Kibrom, a man in his 80s. Officials declared the two responsible for the wedding that allegedly defied a government ban on evangelical church activities. More than 400 evangelical Christians are currently jailed by the Eritrean government, including prominent pastors Rev. Haile Naizgi, Dr. Kiflu Gebremeske and Tesfatsion Hagos. Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-08-11 |
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