ICC, Ethiopian Community to Hold Demonstration Demanding Saudis Release Ethiopian Christian Prisoners
WASHINGTON DC (ICC) – International Christian Concern (ICC) and the Ethiopian community in Washington DC will be holding a public protest demanding Saudi Arabia release 35 Ethiopian Christians arrested for praying at a private home on December 15. The protest will be held on February 21, at 10 AM in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy located at 601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037.
Saudi Arabian government officials have severely mistreated the prisoners because of their Christian faith. The Saudi Arabian officials assaulted the men and strip-searched the female prisoners when they were imprisoned. In early February, the Saudis also began pressuring the Christians to convert to Islam.
Speaking to ICC from Briman jail in Jeddah, one of the female prisoners said,
Why don’t they release us? We want to go back to our country and worship freely
In a message to Christians around the world, another prisoner said,
We want you to help us to get out of prison in every way you can. Please tell your governments about our plight, contact human rights organizations and others and inform them about us.
Kebadu Belachew, an Ethiopian-American human rights activist and one of the organizers of the rally said,
These are law-abiding Ethiopian citizens. They were simply arrested for practicing their faith at a private home. The Saudi government should set them free. We are organizing this protest as part of the effort to set them free.
ICC’s Jonathan Racho said,
We urge all those concerned in the Washington D.C. area to participate in this protest. Saudi Arabian officials have refused to release the Christians despite quiet diplomatic pressure. We must raise our voices and demand the Saudis release the prisoners who were imprisoned simply for praying together.
Please sign this petition asking the Saudi Arabian government to release the Christian prisoners.
Call the Saudi Arabian Embassy in your country and ask them to release the prisoners.
United States: (+1) 202 342 3800
Canada: (+1) 613 237 4100
United Kingdom: (+44) 207 9173-000
Australia: (+61) 2 6250 7000
Germany: (+49) 30 88 92 50
France: (+33) 1 56 79 4000
26 thoughts on “Demonstration at Saudi embassy in DC – today at 10 AM”
Elias and ICC
Do you know that it is illegal in Saudi Arabia (Against sheria law) for a man and women who are not married to each other to be in the same room? It does not matter whether you are a Christian or a Muslim you will go to jail. That is breaking the Saudi /sheria law. But if all of the people who were praying in the room and later arrested were the same sex, all women or all Men, I will say it is a human rights issue. You can not be in the same room (male and female) if you are not married whether for praying or partying.
I will love to join you for the protest but first I want to know if the sheria law was not broken.
Amena
Anonymous replies:
February 21st, 2012 at 2:27 PM
Before checking anything, these people no mater what they do, should be set free – to their country. It is simple. But these rubbish Arabs want to tell us their message, their deep rooted inferiority, they are of people from the 19th century. They must work to update themselves to human standard.
hussein jacob replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 4:18 AM
who is rubbish i know ethiopian christian ladies working outside their counrty, most of them has boyfrieds from the country they are working in and stay up in the night clubs. they doing anything for moneny anything no red lines, my friend that is arab country not ethiopia or amerika, you have to respect their culture no relationships without married, no stay up women outside house till late night, no wine, no whisky, no men visit women in house as friends,no naked clothes for women, when to say rubbish arab you should first know who send young girls or children abroad to collecting money, where your government why to send children girls outside no education no professional job how they live i think you know there one resource for income
Anonymous replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 4:34 PM
Arabs are rubbish, I don’t even consider them as humans.
Being a poor is not a problem, let alone people serving this pigs, they should return to their country unconditionally.
One day these rubbish will run out of oil or will burn in the desert. I don’t want to include here my Ethiopian friends, I have a lovely Muslim friends, but are not ARABS.
Arabs are born to be poor, morally and psychologically. They don’t even improve whether they are living in the west b/se of the way they are built, especially when comes treating women, just visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-17117530, now you can witness how these evils are born to do not better than this.
Alas
Assta B. Gettu replies:
February 21st, 2012 at 10:59 PM
Amina,
The Sharia law is one of the worst laws of the Arab-Muslim world ever produced by the false prophet Muhammad (May curse be upon him) to control the freedom of men and women.
Married or un married, Ethiopian Christian men and Ethiopian Christian women can stay in one room, and nothing will happen, but the bestial Arab-Muslim men cannot stay even for an hour with Muslim women in one room without the Muslim men raping the Muslim women or any woman, Christian or Jewish for that matter. This is a mater of trust, but no one trusts Arab-Muslim men.
You wrote: “I will love to join you for the protest but first I want to know if the sheria law was not broken.” You are telling us you will join the protest if the Sharia law is respected by the Ethiopian Christians in Saudi Arabia; if not, you will not join the protest. Go hell! No one respects your barbaric Sharia law, and we don’t need your presence in the protest. You expect every Ethiopian Christian to follow the Sharia law instead of the law of the Christian land of Ethiopia, and that is why I advocate that a Muslim woman in Ethiopia should not be allowed to have more than one child, but a Christian woman must have five children or more. In this way, we can stifle or subdue the growth of the Muslim population in the Christian land of Ethiopia. If, God forbid, the Muslims in Ethiopia become the majorities, they immediately impose their Sharia law upon the Ethiopian Christians and will never deter to build a grand Mosque near the holy city of Axum or Lalibela.
Tezibt replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 4:26 AM
your are telling christian and jewish are angels and muslim are satans, do you know that in ethiopia men kidnaped women rape her after marry her who is the barbaric who is selling small girls abroad to send money back
Tezibt replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 8:45 AM
Elias:
I am surprised that some coward is using my user name. Above, you can see that some one with screwed up mind has posted a comment that is contrary to my view. Please remove the above comment.
Amina replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 2:25 PM
Weak up and smell the coffee. We are the majority.
Anonymous replies:
February 23rd, 2012 at 1:16 AM
Your majority would be a danger if you believed in human rights and democracy. Your type believes in force. So, does it matter if you are majority or minority? You will spill your venom either way and continue to suppress human rights. You won’t muddy me though. I have many respectable Muslim brothers and sisters who really practice the healthy religion and not the vicious, criminal, corrupt and I humane view like yours.
I would think that if everyone calling the Saudi Embassy and overwhelming with many calls, that would put pressure on them to release the prisoners. If they don’t, we need to organize and calling their number consistently creating a traffic to paralize their communication.
1 John4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world
“Let my people go…
3. Amina,
Don’t be fool. Elias is working now for a foreign agent ICC whose aim is to destroy Islam and Muslims of all the world especially Saudi and Ethiopia.
He is not caring about your comment. We will not allow tela drinking religion in Saudi. Saudis are sleeping too much allowing christians to enter their country. If they do care about Islam then they should send all christians back home or convert them. Otherwise Saudi will be soon selling tella in public next protest. Why Ethiopian communities don’t protest when Muslims are jailed in Ethiopia or Awelia movement or Axum Muslims are denied the right to build Mesjid or even bury their own dead bodies???? What hypocrites is that? Now Elias Kifle has a new agenda foe Ethiopians. Use a foreign agent to free Ethiopians.
We Ethiopian Muslims will stand by you Saudi and will organize protest against Elias Kifle in front of Saudi Embassy. Elias does not represent Ethiopians. He never talked about the problem of his own people in Axum the Muslims.
As long as they convert they can stay otherwise these are people who are funded by ICC to destroy Saudi and they are spies not real worshippers. All christians of Ethiopia are spies for foreign agents and must be deported.
One love replies:
February 18th, 2012 at 3:48 PM
gragn as your name indicate your mentality is also gragn. If they gathered (male and female) breaking the sheria law they should be advised or prosucted in human manner. Have you heared your sister and mother probably who feed you and take care of you back home in one incidence were beaten sevierly and their sexial organ was spinced by a single man with a same glove for all. what sheria is this?. about the tej case dont fool your self its the saudi royal who are high brand whisky importer. They are good at pretending infront of peoople but the best cutomer of Alchol and easter europe whore. God will djude all of us.
Anonymous replies:
February 19th, 2012 at 4:26 PM
Please be advised that I am not defending Saudi Arabia it is about Islam. Saudi does not belong to Saudis especially the holy cities. That said, don’t pretend you care about Ethiopians when you kept silent about some of your own Muslim people getting abused day and night excluded from power and security positions, dehumanized as being less Ethiopians, ashebari, arab, feri, sheretam,. More over, we saw that you were telling us that Axum does not belong to Muslims. Now, you want me to be showing sympathy to some dureye pentes who mix up like a bar to be treated with respect? No way. Only if you follow the rules of the law that you are treated with respect. First, you are not even legal citizens. Second, it is none of ICC’s business to help Ethiopians unless they have agenda of evangelizing.
one love replies:
February 20th, 2012 at 9:56 AM
But in a country which you mentioned muslim are treated as second citizine. do you know it is christians who are forced to convert to muslim. I am telling you in the name of God. not poletical purpose or siding to my fellow relgious. Go and check ( probably you are one of those) in muslim domintating Ethiopia, christians are in one way or onther way either forced to convert or or leave the area. As a person who have been traveing across ethiopians many christians have been telling me with griefs how they are perscuted.The reason why now woyane is looking after you is because you have started looking to arat killo( islamic goverment) had you not do that woyane would keep silent while you kill and burn christians. Can you tell me a single mosque burnt so far? but you burnt a lot church. is this a sign of second citizinship? the problem is chrstians fears chaos of the country and only concerned on removing tyraant meles instead of confronting you but you are good at interplaying both game diplomacy( asking right)where you are minority and enforcing your eveil doctrine when you have power.
Anonymous replies:
February 20th, 2012 at 2:42 PM
either you are blind or arrogant, you just have a gut to say that a single mosque burned? let me ask you do you know any mosque built in addis without some one killed or injured? just because the sickening “not in my backyard” attitude of ppl like you
Amensisa replies:
February 21st, 2012 at 11:48 AM
Gragn Ahmed, do you want to build a mosque inside a monastery (Axum). Even if you muslims let us to build churches in Mecca and Medina, we would not let you have a mosque in Axum.
Tezibt replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 8:59 AM
Why is building a mosque in Axum related to Muslims right of existence? Why don’t we have the same designated holly place for the Muslims, rather than destroy Axum, a place that contributed to the safety of prophet mohammed’s followers. Let us be reasonable and find a wholly spot that makes sense where Ethiopian Muslims can be proud of. If I see any one who can’t agree with this reasonable idea, one has to check self. The main topic on this issue should be rights. Otherwise, where will this stop? Some non Muslim instigator could claim to have a mosque in monasteries or something like that. We will continue to host foreign religions and as soon as they arrive we have to make them Ethiopian so that they live side by side and peacefully. Somalia with one religion can’t have peace. Peace is priceless. Religious competition = bloodshed and we don’t accept that. Police and religion could cause brothers from the same mother to shed blood.
Anonymous replies:
February 21st, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Gragn , I agree with you that the crusade never ended and ICC is the living proof. However, unlike you, I support Elias and I believe he cares. We have a big common enemy, Woyanne and its dirty money man named Alamudi whom I believe has a mission to destroy Ethiopia. I also believe that people should not be forced to change their religion. We have to learn from our past mistakes, from the atrocity committed by the crusaders and the Othman empire. And I DO NOT CARE about the Saudis but I want my fellow Ethiopians to understand the Islamic low in Saudi that we obey when we go to Saudi. This is not about Christianity it is about obeying the local law, the Islamic low. When you are in Rome…
Elias, Be careful, if you allow ICC and the right wing Evangelicals to run the show, they will make a Darfur out of us.
Amina
Gragn Ahmed replies:
February 21st, 2012 at 8:30 PM
I believe Elias Kifle is agent of foreign fund. No matter what Al Amoudin does he is my fellow Ethiopian. I am proud of what he has done to all of us despite ignoring his Muslim origin. I can not trust this man who never ever wrote any single complaint for his own Muslim brothers. What on earth is Elias doing for Muslims? He speaks for christians? Is this room objective changed into religion? I am confused. I really don’t think this is fair while our own brothers can not even get buried in their own land. Elias is simply determined to hate Weyane and Saudis. For me I will not hate Saudis or Al Amoudins. Why you guys don’t complain when England or America invest and sometimes corrupt our officials? We don’t hate Americans only their govt policy sometimes. So Saudis also may have wrong policy but that is no reason to hate Saudis or shout at them. What happened to these men in Saudi is nothing compared to what Ethiopian copts did to Axum Muslims or Muslims in general a house arrest.
I sent to Saudi Embassy a letter of support to what they did. Until we see change of heart from Axum copts, I will never have sympathy for what happens to copts. Since when Elias is asking the religious people to show up for such stupid protest while he never wanted to show interest for Ethiopian Muslims? I really get ashamed to see such stupid web site being used to promote politics. Let us not mix religion with politics. I have full confidence that the Saudis treat people with respect more than copts treat muslims of Ethiopia.
Tezibt replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 3:50 AM
Amena
Please get a life. You are twisting the whole subject. Let the poor servants and maids go back to their homeland. The Saudis are wealthy, they dont need you as their lawyer. You are acting like a real abbid.
Gragn Ahmed,
Has no religion, just a woyane agent who worships tyrant Meles that has the blood of unknown number of Ethiopians and Somalis. Gragn’s job is to instigate and create division among Christians and Muslims. Gragn Ahmed is not even an Atheist, associating Gragn Ahmed to Atheists, would be an insult to so many law abiding, caring and Human Rights advocate Atheists around the world. I would rather be an Atheists and a good person than being a believer in the Merciful God and still support a calculated, merciless, looter, killer and Human Rights Abuser tyrant Meles. Loving God means caring and loving others. Just saying I believe in God/Allah and at same time supporting a dictator with bloody-hands is meaningless.
Tezibt replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 3:54 AM
As I have tried for so long, I feel like gragn Mohammed isn’t even an African, let alone Ethiopian. He may be a well learned person on Ethiopian history. I have followed him for a long time but I could never relate him to any Muslim that I know of.
Any one can witness how Arabs abuse women, even in a western country, they go with their behaviour, womanizers! check this out:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-17117530
Tezibt replies:
February 22nd, 2012 at 4:05 AM
I don’t know why you have to go as far as posting a bbc news. Why do Saudis come to Ethiopia? How do they behave when they get there? Do you know how much drug and alchohol is consumed in Saudi? For amena and others who foolishly support the Saudis, do your homework on what is going on in Saudi. Do not defend the devil or you will be wasting your emotion senselessly. It is totally different to support your religion as a Muslim vs. to support arrogance and racism. Specially. Being from the land that gave sanctuary to prophet Mohammed’s family, it is hurtful to see the Saudis abusing our people because they are poor. Of course our effort will only
make it worst for these poor prisoners because the arrogance of the Saudis doesn’t allow them to behave humanly. I pray for thiese arrogants that they don’t suffer the worst for what they are doing.