A young artist from the region of Tizi Ouzou in Algeria, who regularly attended his local christian church, was savagely assaulted and threatened with death by Islamic radicals.



Taken to task by a group of bearded men, the attackers admonished Allaf Ghiles for his conversion to Christianity, threatening to kill him and his family if he was to attend church again.

Three men shouted “The Christian” before getting off their vehicle and assaulting me. They then threatened me and my family with death. I cannot tell you who these people are. We have sought legal counsel. We have a lawyer and we will keep you informed of any development in the case Allaf Ghiles



His attackers proceeded to beat him and break his guitar before leaving him in the middle of the road.

Not a first

Christians living in Algeria, often experience a hostile environment imposed by Islamists, who often go unpunished for their acts. There’s been accusations of a laissez-faire by the authorities in the name of social peace.

Over the past decades, most of the remaining churches have been shut down by the government, leaving Christians forced to practice their religion clandestinely.