(January 30, DUBAI (AFP))--Thirty-five Ethiopian Christians, 29 of them women, face deportation from Saudi Arabia for “illicit mingling” after police raided a private prayer gathering, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
The New York-based watchdog said the women were subjected to “unwarranted strip search,” while the men were beaten and insulted as “unbelievers”.
The group was arrested on December 15 in a private home in Jeddah as they gathered to pray ahead of Christmas in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom which bans the practice of any religious rites except those of Islam.
“While King Abdullah sets up an international interfaith dialogue centre, his police are trampling on the rights of believers of others faiths,” said HRW senior Middle East researcher Christoph Wilcke. “The Saudi government needs to change its own intolerant ways before it can promote religious dialogue abroad,” he added in a statement. Read more from The Daily Star, Lebanon »
The New York-based watchdog said the women were subjected to “unwarranted strip search,” while the men were beaten and insulted as “unbelievers”.
The group was arrested on December 15 in a private home in Jeddah as they gathered to pray ahead of Christmas in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom which bans the practice of any religious rites except those of Islam.
“While King Abdullah sets up an international interfaith dialogue centre, his police are trampling on the rights of believers of others faiths,” said HRW senior Middle East researcher Christoph Wilcke. “The Saudi government needs to change its own intolerant ways before it can promote religious dialogue abroad,” he added in a statement. Read more from The Daily Star, Lebanon »
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