An Indonesian church leader and peace activist will speak at a series of 'Don't Stand in Silence 2005' roadshows on the persecuted church and join venues by former British Conservative Party Member of Parliament and author Jonathan Aitken.
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Rev. Rinaldy Damanik is head of the Crisis Centre of Central Sulawesi who has been imprisoned for over two years after falsely being accused of possessing illegal weapons.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that Damanik was responsible for informing the international community of attacks and human rights violations in the area. Police had stopped him in August 2002 in Peleru in Sulawesi while trying to rescue Christians under attack from militants in the region.

According to CSW, the police had alleged that they seized 14 weapons and ammunition for his car. But he was not arrested at that time and was not informed of what the authorities had reported to have ‘found’.

A month later on 9 September 2002, Damanik was arrested in Jakarta and later accused of owning weapons without permissions. CSW reported that these charges are believed to have been a part of a move to silence him.

|QUOTE|CSW commented that Damanik’s arrest and trial were characterised by irregularities and human rights violation. Testimonies from police and military witnesses differed. In June 2003, Damanik was sentenced to prison for three years and was released in November 2004 after serving just over two years.

“We are looking forward to bringing the Rev. Damanik to venues across the country, enabling thousands of Christians in the UK to hear first hand what it means to be persecuted for the Christian faith,” said Mervyn Thomas, CSW's Chief Executive. “He is an inspirational speaker, whose story will be compelling. We hope that many will be challenged to stand with our persecuted family around the world in prayerful and practical ways.”

According to CSW, the 'Don't Stand in Silence 2005' nationwide road shows are a series of interactive awareness-raising evenings.

The 'Don't Stand in Silence 2005' is a series of interactive awareness-raising evenings being held nationwide in Britain to encourage Christians in the UK to pray, protest and support the persecuted church.

Over 200 million Christians in at least 60 countries do not have fundamental human rights because of their faith, according to World Evangelical Alliance.