This report from Charisma News Service on Saudi Arabia's latest outrage:
Religious police recently broke up another private worship service of expatriate Christians, arresting five elders of a house church in Riyadh's central Al-Olaya district. High-ranking Muslim sheikhs reportedly took part in the April 29 raid on a congregation of 60 Ethiopian and Eritrean Christians who had gathered for prayer, Compass Direct reported. The worshipers' Bibles and one woman's cross necklace were confiscated.
During the initial fours days of their incarceration, the five Ethiopian elders were permitted telephone contact with their families, but they have reportedly been transferred to undisclosed prison facilities. The group of East Africans had met for prayer and worship in Riyadh for the last four years, a local source told Compass. It was the second recent crackdown of expatriate believers in Riyadh. On April 22, 40 Pakistani Christians were arrested for participating in a joint Catholic-Protestant prayer service. Except for two men held an additional day, the Pakistani Christians were all released the same day.
