President Tebboune who persecutes Christians meets Pope in Vatican in attempt to polish his image

Algeria’s president Abdelmedjid Tebboune met the new Vatican Pope Leo XIV in a bid to polish his image,following a visit to Italy.

Tebboune attempted to leverage the legacy of Saint Augustine,born in present-day Algeria,as a cultural and spiritual bridge between Algeria and the Catholic world.

The visit is portrayed as part of a broader PR campaign to “cleanse” his image on the international stage,especially as Algeria continues to suppress religious freedoms and civil liberties domestically.

International Christian advocacy groups,including Open Doors,complain that Algeria remains a difficult environment for Christians,especially Protestants,with almost all churches forcibly closed or pressured to cease services by 2024.

“This year also saw new court cases against church leaders and continued pressure on followers of Jesus,” Open Doors said.

In its latest report,the US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended the US to put Algeria on a Special Watch List in view of the violations of religious freedoms in the country.

It also called on the US government to “condition financial and technical support to the Algerian government on addressing violations of religious freedom.”

“In 2023,the Algerian government brought religiously grounded blasphemy and proselytization charges against several individuals,including Christians,Muslims,and freethinkers,” the report said.