Algerian Christians Receive Prison Sentences In Absentia 03/11/2021 Algeria (International Christian Concern) – Two Christians received two-year prison sentences and heavy fines for “proselytizing” in response to incidents that took place in 2008 and 2017. Pastor Rachid Seighir and one of his congregants, Nouh Hamimi, learned of their punishments via a written notification posted to their church building in Oran. In September 2017, a bookstore owned by Pastor Rachid, where Hamimi worked as a salesman, was raided by Oran authorities. After finding Christian books, printing machines, and Bibles, the governor closed the bookstore. In 2018 and in 2019, the church won legal cases that ordered the reopening of the bookstore. However, the governor refused to obey the court ruling. The bookstore has remained closed since the original incident.