You are invited to come and hear the remarkable story of Christian worker Petr Jasek, who was accused of spying in Sudan and jailed for 445 days. Petr Jasek, a champion of the persecuted church, is in the UK on a speaking tour for Release International.
He was given a life sentence in Sudan for spying, conspiracy, photographing military areas and inciting violence against the state.
‘I was falsely accused,’ he told Release, ‘while documenting persecution in Sudan. I was facing the death penalty. For 14 and a half months, I shared a prison cell with ISIS fighters. One took part in the killing of Egyptian prisoners on the Libyan shore.’ One of those prisoners used to be a bodyguard for Osama Bin Laden.
Led cellmates to Christ
His cellmates beat him and vilified him, but Petr Jasek went on to lead some of them to Christ.
He realised that sharing the gospel with his fellow inmates was God’s purpose for him in jail, and that it was by God’s strength, rather than his own, that he would survive.
‘Your prayers and letters helped me and sustained my family,’ he told Release. ‘The experience changed my life. I realised what it really means to be a Christian.’
Czech-born Petr Jasek came to the attention of the authorities in 2015 after helping pay for medical treatment for an injured student from Darfur. He was arrested on his way out of the country and accused, along with three Sudanese nationals, of funding rebel movements in South Kordofan and Darfur.
Diplomatic intervention
He spent a total of 445 days behind bars, before being released in February 2017 after diplomatic intervention.
Petr Jasek grew up under communist rule in the former Czechoslovakia, where his parents were persecuted for their faith. He has worked with the persecuted church for 25 years, 16 as Africa regional director for Release partner, Voice of the Martyrs.
Persecution against Christians has been intensifying in Sudan. At least 25 church buildings in Khartoum North are under threat of demolition, according to Christian leaders. The Sudanese Government claim the churches were built on land intended for other uses. But mosques in the same area were excluded from the demolition order.
Speaking tour
Petr Jasek will be speaking in churches across Greater London, Kent, Sussex and South Wales. Please click here for a link to a brief video of Petr and a list of the venues he will be speaking at.
‘I want to challenge us in the free countries about what we, as Christians, should do for those who are standing boldly for their faith in Christ,’ he said.
Release is celebrating its 50th anniversary of serving the persecuted Church. Through its international network of missions Release International is active in more than 30 countries around the world, supporting pastors, Christian prisoners and their families; supplying Christian literature and Bibles; and working for justice.
ENDS