Saudis release Christian blogger after ten weeks in custody
Good news! Hamoud Bin Saleh, who was arrested in January after announcing on his blog that he had converted from Islam to Christianity, has been released from detention. Although he was freed in late March, the news was only reported today by Middle East Concern.
Hamoud was arrested on 13th January 2009 and detained at the infamous Eleisha political prison in Riyadh. He had written in his blog of his decision to leave Islam to follow Jesus, and had also been critical of the judicial system in his country, highlighting corruption and human rights abuses. This was the third time that Hamoud had been detained, having been held for nine months in 2004 and for one month in 2008.
Hamoud has been forbidden to leave Saudi Arabia or to appear in the media. New entries have been posted at his blog, Christ for Saudi (Arabic).
After his arrest, Saudi authorities blocked his blog within the country. A few days later, Google closed his blog for alleged terms of service violations. Google restored the blog on 5 February, but gave no explanation for the temporary closure.
As Middle East Concern points out, Hamoud’s release is surprising, since leaving Islam is a capital crime in Saudi Arabia. In August 2008 it was reported that a Saudi man murdered his daughter for converting to Christianity.
May our Lord continue to encourage and protect Hamoud.
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the christforsaudi blogspot has been removed. pray for the man’s safety and future.