EPISCOPAL PRIEST ARRESTED FOR "KIDNAPPING" MUSLIM

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 001177

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/SPG AND DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRF KWMN SCUL SU
SUBJECT: EPISCOPAL PRIEST ARRESTED FOR "KIDNAPPING" MUSLIM
WOMAN


Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL/ECONOMIC CHIEF MICHAEL HONIGSTEIN; REAS
ON: 1.4(B) AND (D)


1. (C) The Rev. Elia Kumundan, a priest of the Episcopal
Church of Sudan, was arrested in Khartoum on Sunday, May 14,
in connection with the disappearance of a Muslim woman who
wanted to convert to Christianity. According to the
Episcopal Bishop of Khartoum, Rt. Rev. Ezekiel Kondo, the
woman is a 23-year old University of Khartoum student who ran
away from home in March, after her family beat her for owning
a Bible. When the family found her several weeks later at a
student hostel, she fled again, eventually finding refuge in
the home of a Christian friend. The friend then put her in
touch with Kumundan, a priest at All Saints' Episcopal
Cathedral.


2. (C) The National Security and Intelligence Service (NISS)
traced the woman's mobile phone calls and discovered that
Kumundan was the last person she called before turning her
phone several weeks ago. Police arrested Kumundan on Sunday
afternoon, charging him with "kidnapping." After two days,
the Dean of the Cathedral and a church lawyer were able to
meet with Kumundan at a NISS detention center in Khartoum
North late on the evening of Tuesday, May 16. Kumundan
reported that he was fine and had not been harmed, but that
three other clerics that had been arrested with him --
possibly including a Roman Catholic priest -- had been
beaten. The Apostolic Nunciature had no knowledge of the
case, however, and officials at the Catholic Archdiocese of
Khartoum could not be reached for comment.


3. (C) The woman and her friend reported to a Khartoum police
station late on May 16, in hopes of persuading the police to
release Kumundan and the others. The police told church
officials that woman has now been placed in protective
custody, though Bishop Kondo is concerned she will be handed
over to her family to be beaten again. Converting from Islam
to another religion is considered apostasy under Shari'a law,
and remains a crime punishable by death in Northern Sudan.
However, this crime is very rarely prosecuted, and the last
execution for apostasy was over twenty years ago. Beatings
by family members and social exile are far more common.


4. (C) Bishop Kondo now plans to ask authorities to drop the
kidnapping charges and release Kumundan; if police continue
to delay, he plans to contact international media and attempt
to pressure the Government. (To date, news of the arrests
have appeared only in one Khartoum Arabic-language newspaper
and the English-language website Sudan Tribune). Although
apostasy is a crime, it is not illegal in Northern Sudan for
Christians to preach publicly or accept converts from othe
religions. "Preaching the word of God is part of our faith,"
Kondo explained. "Whether or not they listen to us is their
decision." However, Kondo insisted that Kumundu had not
attempted to convert the woman, but rather that she had come
to him. "People who want to convert from Islam bring a lot
of problems to the Church, and it can be very hard for them
and for us. But many people do it, and we are not afraid of
it."
HUME