Indonesia: freedom for Abraham Bentar Rohadi
Posted on May 11 2008

A Christian clothes trader accused of blasphemy by his own relatives after he shared his faith with customers has been freed from jail.

Abraham Bentar Rohadi from West Java was released on parole a year early on April 27, after serving two years of a four-and-a-half-year sentence.

Abraham, a Christian with a Muslim background, was almost beaten to death by an angry mob after his own brother-in-law accused him of insulting Islam's prophet Mohammed. A doctor said if it had taken just 10 minutes longer to get Abraham to hospital, he would have died.

Instead of members of the mob who attacked Abraham being arrested, Abraham himself was detained in March 2006. He claims to have been badly beaten - both by interrogators before his trial and by fellow prisoners afterwards. Undeterred, he continued to share his faith with other inmates.

Abraham became a Christian at the age of 48 when he saw Jesus in a dream as he convalesced after a stroke. 'I told the other prisoners it is because I really understand the Koran that I converted to Christianity,' he said.

During his time in prison, Abraham and his wife received more than 10,000 letters of support from Christians around the world. Release International supported his wife Kristowadi and their 14-year-old daughter Rinda by paying rent on their house and helping Kristowadi set up a kiosk so she could earn a modest living.

• Thank God for the release of Abraham Bentar Rohadi.
• Pray that his family would be allowed to rebuild their lives in peace now.