religious freedom?

[theist]

So many similar accounts from doing a google search on 'saudi bible'.

 

 

Two men deported from Saudi Arabia for possessing Bibles and Christian

music

 

 

CHRISTIAN TIMES

 

 

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Filipino Christians Danilo de Guzman, 38, and Benjamin Diaz, 40, were deported to the Philippines May 18 after spending more than a month in prison. On March 29, 2001, the men were caught in possession of a Bible and Christian music CDs when police raided their room in Abqaiq, about 350 kilometers from the capital of Riyadh. The two men resided in Saudi Arabia as migrant workers.

 

The public expression of religious belief other than Islam is forbidden in Saudi Arabia, and the government there is considered one of the world’s worst persecutors of non-Muslim religious belief. Saudi officials have repeatedly stated that non-Muslims are free to practice their faith in the privacy of their own homes, but raids on such gatherings have driven many Christians underground.

 

Tina Lambert, advocacy director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, condemned the prison sentences and fines the two men endured.

 

“Guzman and Diaz were imprisoned for exercising their right to worship in private,” Lambert said. “It is inexcusable that the mere possession of religious materials can lead to job loss and deportation in (Saudi Arabia).”

 

CSW is a Christian advocacy group that monitors religious rights in several nations.

 

A local court sentenced the men to one month of prison in April 2001 and a higher court increased their sentence to include 150 lashes in January 2002. Guzman said that he was not allowed to consult a lawyer and that only his company liason officer was present during the hearings.

 

Such floggings and torturous punishments are common in the Muslim nation. The Saudi government was chastised by the U.N. Committee Against Torture on May 16 for using whippings, torture and amputations as punishments and means of coercion. According to the BBC, Saudi officials immediately rejected the U.N.’s reprimand, denied that the practice exists in their country and asserted that sharia, the Islamic code of conduct, forbids it.

 

The two men were escorted from their residence on April 10 and taken to prison in Abqaiq. In the prison, they were informed that the lashing sentence had been commuted and they were scheduled to be immediately deported. In addition, Guzman was forced to pay several hundred dollars in fines for possessing the Christian materials. In May they were transferred to a deportation center in Dammam and placed on a flight to the Philippines. Both men arrived in Manila on May 19.

 

“I’m glad we’re all together now,” said Evelyn de Guzman, the wife of Danilo. “He is safe and in good health.”

 

Guzman went to work in Saudi Arabia as an electrical engineer in September 2000, leaving his wife and children in the Philippines. He said he plans to search for work abroad again and thanked supporters for their prayers while he served his sentence.

 

The experiences of Guzman and Diaz are not isolated incidents. During the summer of 2001, 14 expatriate Christians in Jiddah were detained in connection with their Christian faith. The last of these detainees was finally deported at the end of March. Three of these Christians suffered 80 lashes each, even though none appeared before a court and they were not formally charged with any crime. On May 10 of this year, Saudi officials arrested 10 Ethiopian and Eritrian Christians who had gathered together in Jiddah for worship services.

 

CSW is calling on the international community to speak out against breaches of freedom of religion and other fundamental human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.

 

 

[Enlightened]

Don't mind me, but for people who live in saudi it basically stinks. Why?, because it is headed by a theocratic monarchy which is based on Islamic Fundamentalist ideas. Duh! you can't have religious freedom there.

A word of the wise : Get out of saudi if you are in there.