Man imprisoned for Facebook blasphemy given partial pardon
Slimane Bouhafs, serving a three year prison sentence for 'insulting Islam and the prophet Mohammed' on Facebook, has received a partial presidential pardon. His sentence has been reduced by 16 months, which means he could be released eight months from now.
This was announced by Slimane's daughter Tilleli, after the family of the detained Christian was informed of the pardon by the public prosecutor. Slimane was one of a group of prisoners who received a partial pardon by Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of Algeria's independence on 5 July. According to his family, Slimane's good conduct while being incarcerated contributed to the pardon.
Slimane was originally sentenced to five years in prison, but this was reduced to three on appeal.
'Escalation' against non-Muslims
Slimane grew up as a Muslim but started following Christ and attending Christian meetings in 1997. He was arrested in July 2016 after he posted a message on Facebook about 'the light of Jesus overcoming the lie of Islam and its Prophet in the Kabylie area'. Kabylie is the Berber region in Algeria, where the church has been growing significantly in recent decades.
In September 2016, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment. His family, supported by Algerian and international human rights groups, have continued to protest against the verdict. The local NGO Algerian League for Human Rights (LADDH) called the trial 'arbitrary' and the verdict 'part of an escalation' against non-Muslims in Algeria. Algeria's constitution names Islam as the state religion.
Deteriorating health
According to his daughter, Slimane's health has deteriorated significantly since his arrest. In addition to an existing condition - he suffers from inflammatory rheumatism which requires a diet that is impossible to maintain in prison - he reportedly also suffers aggression from his fellow prisoners because of his Christian faith, which he is open about. His family has filed a new request to grant him conditional release for health reasons.
