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Pastors Michael and Peter Banned from Leaving Sudan

By 

Tiffany Barrans

|
August 7, 2015

2 min read

Persecuted Church

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Pastors Michael and Peter were released from prison earlier this week, but face new obstacles in their journey to safety.

As we reported earlier this week:

Christian Pastors Yat Michael Ruot and Peter Yein Reith have just been released by a Sudanese judge.

The Christian pastors, originally from South Sudan, were on trial because of their faith, facing possible death sentences.

After a major international outcry, including more than 220,000 who have signed our petition for their freedom at BeHeardProject.com, the pastors are now free.

Pastors Michael and Peter are eternally grateful for the prayers and voices of all those who have taken action for their freedom.

After they were released from prison, the Pastors traveled to the airport to leave Sudan. But they were told they could not leave the country due to a travel ban still in effect since last March.

Pastor Michael and Peter’s lawyer has returned to the judge to ask for the ban to be lifted, but it is possible that the judge may not have jurisdiction to do so if the travel ban was put in place by the National Intelligence Security Service (NISS), which originally levied the fabricated charges against the pastors.

The court only has jurisdiction over travel bans put in place by the prosecutor as part of the legal proceedings. If NISS controls the ban, it could be much more difficult to get it released.

The judge has scheduled a hearing to review the matter on Sunday.

Until they are safely out of Sudan, they are not truly free and the safety of the pastors and the families is at risk.

We must continue praying and speaking out for Pastors Michael and Peter until they are free and safe at home once and for all.

We will continue working to ensure these pastors are truly safe and free.

8.10.2015 UPDATE: After Sunday’s court hearing, the travel ban is still in place. We continue working with our contacts on the ground and aggressively advocating across the globe, urging Sudan to let the pastors leave the country. They and their families remain at risk. They will not be truly free until they are safely out of Sudan.

Add your voice to our new petition.

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