2017 Victories: Sudanese Pastors Facing Possible Death Sentences Freed

This is the latest installment in a year-end series looking back at a few of the numerous victories by the ACLJ in 2017.

After a months long, multistage legal advocacy battle, the ACLJ helped free two Christian pastors who were wrongfully imprisoned in Sudan because of their faith. 

When pastors Kuwa Shamal and Pastor Hassan Abduraheem were arrested and falsely imprisoned for their Christian faith, we launched a massive legal advocacy campaign cross the globe. The pastors faced possible death sentences. As part of our advocacy campaign, we wrote legal letters to Sudan’s national leaders urging them to meet their international legal obligations and to not violate religious freedom.

Then earlier this year, Pastor Kuwa was released when a Sudanese judge dropped all charges against him. But Pastor Hassan remained on trial and was wrongly convicted on the false charges. After our aggressive legal advocacy increased pressure on the Sudanese government, Sudan’s president finally caved months later by issuing a pardon and freeing Pastor Hassan.

Yet even with this victory, we must redoubled our efforts as Christians in Sudan face increasing attempts to silence pastors and shutter Christian. In Sudan, churches are being demolished with dozens more on government lists to be destroyed. Yet Christians there bravely persist in their faith although they continue to be persecuted through various forms of harassment, torture, death, and destruction.

A great victory was achieved with the aid of a lot of prayer, diligent legal work, and the more than 200,000 of you who signed the petition to join our legal letters and to be heard for these Christian pastors in Sudan.

Even though Christian persecution continues to be a major problem in Sudan and throughout the region, with your support, we will be able to win more victories like this one that helped free Pastor Kuwa and Pastor Hassan. At the ACLJ, it is our sacred duty to defend persecuted Christians across the globe.

To help the ACLJ continue to have the resources we need to make these victories possible and continue these fights, please consider making a Tax-Deductible donation to the ACLJ through our year-end Matching Challenge. Your gift will be DOUBLED dollar-for-dollar through the end of the year.

You can read more in the ACLJ’s 2017 Victories series here.

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