VOM Expresses Concern over Pakistani Christians held in Saudi Arabia

The situation regarding the 40 Pakistani Christians arrested in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago remains uncertain. Human rights organisations and Christians are very concerned about the issue. Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) has tried to raise international awareness to the Christian persecution in the Islamic country of Saudi Arabia.

Todd Nettleton from VOM said to Mission News Network (MNN), "Saudi Arabia is a county where no Saudi citizen is allowed them to identify themselves as a Christian. And, there are no church buildings allowed, even foreign worshipers are subject to being raided and arrested by the religious police."

While the Christian activities in Saudi Arabia are kept underground, VOM has been supporting them with Christian radio programs and Christian literature. "Our goal, really, at Voice of the Martyrs, is to stand with local believers. And, we know there are believers in Saudi Arabia. We know there are Saudi believers who are carrying out the Gospel there in their own country. And so, we want to do whatever we can to be of assistance to them and help them as they're building the church there."

VOM has pointed out that foreign Christians from less powerful countries tend to be persecuted even more.

"...because they are Pakistanis they could face a long period of time in jail. We've seen people from less powerful countries than America have been held from long periods of time and in one case sentenced to die," Nettleton said.

Nettleton believes that a Christian petition could draw international pressure and force their release. "As we are sending those letters and communicating that way, we can affect a change in the policy of the country of Saudi Arabia, at least in this particular case."

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) dispatched a letter to the foreign minister on Tuesday, requesting immediate intervention in the case of the 40 Pakistani Christians held in Saudi Arabia. The HRCP demanded immediate release of those arrested.

Saudi Arabia, has been accused of severe violation of religious freedom by the US Department of State. Among its 24-million strong population, 6-7 million are foreigners. As an official Islamic kingdom, all citizens are required to be Muslims and most of the Christians are from foreign countries. Pakistanis are the third most populous foreign nationality in Saudi Arabia.

The US Department of State has declared Saudi Arabia a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act since September 2004. However, the US is being criticised by human rights organisations for not imposing penalties on the Saudi government for its violation of religious freedom even though the deadline passed more than a month ago.