Libya (MNN) — There’s a lot we don’t know about six Libyan Christians in jail since 2022. But that doesn’t prevent the Body of Christ from standing with them in prayer.
“We don’t know specifically what the charges are against them. We believe that it is for sharing the gospel,” says Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs.
“The trial had been set for August the 13th [2024]. To our knowledge, the trial has not happened, but there hasn’t been any kind of an announcement of ‘it’s been delayed until X day.’”
Libya has had two rival governments for the past 10 years. You can imagine how this undermines judicial process and constitutional rights for its 2% Christian population.
Libya is ranked number 3 on Open Doors’ World Watch List. (More on that here.)
“There’s a couple different options that they could be facing. One [charge could be] for their own leaving Islam, or the other option [could be] for encouraging other people to leave Islam. Frankly, it could be both,” Nettleton says.
(Image courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs)
“[It] would probably not be a charge like ‘evangelism.’ It would probably be a charge like ‘the corrupting the society’ or ‘corrupting the morals of another person.’”
Nettleton says that under Libya’s penal code, conversion and evangelism can receive the death penalty.
“I’m very curious to know what’s happening behind the scenes that this trial has been delayed yet again. Maybe there’s pressure from outside to release these people, to not have a trial,” he says.
Find your place in this story with Hebrews 13:3, which calls believers to remember imprisoned and mistreated fellow Christians.
“It would be very easy [for Christians in Libya] to think, ‘I need to be quiet,’ or ‘I need to stop gathering with other believers,’ or even ‘I need to flee the country.’ All of those are sort of logical responses to this,” Nettleton says.
“But we want to pray against discouragement and against intimidation, for not only the six who are on trial, but for all of our brothers and sisters in Libya during this time.”
Header photo is a representative stock photo courtesy of Ehsan Habashi/Unsplash.
