Additional Name(s): حميد سوداد

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Algeria

Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Rejected

Sentence: 5 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: January/20/2021

Date of Sentencing: January/21/2021

Date of Release: July/20/2023

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Expression about Religion Online Activity

Nature of Charges: Blasphemy

Hamid Soudad

Extra Bio Info:

Hamid Soudad was imprisoned for his expression about religion.

On January 20, 2021, Soudad was arrested for insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad reportedly in relation to a cartoon he shared on Facebook in 2018. 

The next day on January 21, 2021, a court in Arzew held an expedited trial and sentenced Soudad to the maximum five years for “offending the Prophet” and “denigrating the creed and precepts of Islam” (Art.144 bis 2 APC). He was reportedly denied legal representation. Soudad was also reportedly questioned about his conversion to Christianity and his membership in the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA). 

On March 22, 2021, the Oran City Appeals Court upheld his sentence.

On July 9, 2021, a group of bipartisan U.S. senators referenced Soudad’s case in a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken about deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Algeria.

In May 2023, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Soudad's detention arbitrary and called for his immediate release. 

On July 5, 2023, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pardoned several political prisoners, including Soudad.

On July 20, 2023, Soudad was released. 

Publicly Available Information:

Sep 24, 2021

Since 2009, USCIRF has recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Nigeria a country of particular concern, or CPC, for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations. In December 2020, the State Department designated Nigeria for the first time, making Nigeria the first secular democracy to be added to the CPC list.

As we approach the end of 2021 and anticipate the State Department’s upcoming CPC designations, today’s discussion with USCIRF Commissioner Frederick A. Davie will demonstrate why CPC re-designation is warranted, correct some common misconceptions, and explore how the U.S. government can adjust its policy in Nigeria to assist the government in improving its religious freedom record.

Read more USCIRF reporting on religious freedom in Nigeria here.

Oct 06

WHEN:

Oct 6th 11:00am - Oct 6th 12:00pm

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

USCIRF Conversation: Update on At-Risk Religious Communities in Afghanistan

Wednesday, October 6, 2021
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Virtual Event

Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual event discussing religious communities at extreme risk of persecution in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized control on August 15, 2021.

The Taliban’s imposition of its harsh and strict interpretation of Sunni Islam poses a grave threat to all Afghans of differing interpretations and other faiths or beliefs. Since taking control of the country in August, the Taliban has intimidated, threatened, and targeted leaders from religious minority communities. The already small Afghan Hindu and Sikh communities are nearly extinct, and the last Jew in Afghanistan fled the country in September. Hazara Shi’a Muslims, Christians, Ahmadis, and Baha’is face dire consequences at the hands of the Taliban and ISIS-K.

This discussion will also explore ways the U.S. government and international community can protect and assist at-risk Afghans in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover.

USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza and Commissioner Frederick A. Davie will be joined by guest panelists Palwasha Kakar of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and Krish O’Mara Vignarajah of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. USCIRF Director of Outreach and Policy Dwight Bashir will moderate the conversation followed by questions and answers from attendees. 

Panelists

  • Nadine Maenza, Chair, USCIRF
  • Frederick A. Davie, Commissioner, USCIRF
  • Palwasha Kakar, Interim Director, Religion and Inclusive Societies, United States Institute of Peace
  • Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Moderator

  • Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF

 

This virtual event is open to the public and media. The video recording will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please contact [email protected].

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