Sudan orders pastors to turn over leadership of their church to government-appointed committee

Sudanese authorities have arrested seven pastors in Omdurman last week for refusing to comply with an order to turn over the leadership of their churches to a government-appointed committee.

On Wednesday, the seven pastors from the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) were arrested and jailed for six hours before they were released on bail, according to Morning Star News.

Pastor Kwa Shamaal, who had been previously arrested on Dec. 18, 2015 on charges ranging from spying to inciting hatred against the government, was among the church leaders who were arrested on Wednesday. He was released from prison in January this year after he was found not guilty of the said charges.

The police opened a case against Shamaal and six other church leaders after they refused to comply with an order from Sudan's Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments, asking them to hand over church leadership to a committee picked by the government agency.

"Police asked if we still maintain our stance on our refusal to acknowledge the committee appointed by the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments, and we said yes, because it is not the work of the [government] ministry to appoint committees for the church," Shamaal told Morning Star News.

The pastors contended that the government-appointed committee would violate SCOC's constitution, which calls for general elections every three years to appoint new leadership.

Other pastors who were arrested include Rev. Ayoub Mattan, Rev. Yagoub Naway and pastor Musa Kodi. Three other church leaders, including SCOC Finance Secretary Abdulbagi Ali Abdulrahaman and SCOC Deputy Finance Secretary El-Amin Hassam Abdulrasool, were also interrogated before all seven pastors were released on bail.

Mattan, Shamaal and the others are still members of SCOC's executive committee, and their term does not expire until March 2018, according to sources. Six other members of SCOC are currently in hiding after they learned that the police are also pursuing them.

The Sudanese government has intensified its crackdown on Christians following the secession of South Sudan in July 2011. In April 2013, the government announced that it will no longer grant licenses for building new churches in the country, citing a decrease in the South Sudanese population.

Sudan has been classified by the U.S. State Department as a Country of Particular Concern since 1999 due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violation.

The advocacy group Open Doors has ranked Sudan in its 2017 World Watch List as the fifth most difficult country to live as a Christian.