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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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Saudi Arabia
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Christians deported
Regime responds to diplomatic pressure
The government of Saudi Arabia has deported 12 Christians who had been imprisoned for practicing their faith, the Fides news service has reported.
The Christians—all of them foreign nationals—were expelled from Saudi Arabia late in January, Fides said. Two other imprisoned Christians, both from Ethiopia, were expected to be deported soon as well.
The Christians had been arrested this past summer, between July and September, for participating in private prayer sessions. Saudi Arabia strictly forbids the practice of any faith other than Islam.
Human-rights groups had hoped that the Christian prisoners would be released last November, under the terms of a general amnesty declared by King Fahd. But although 12,000 other prisoners were released, those accused of religious offenses remained behind bars.
Fides suggested that the deportation of the Christians prisoners was a way for the Saudi government to avoid criticism by human-rights advocates, while still upholding the strict laws banning non-Muslim worship.