Canadians arrested in Moroccan Bible escapade
Brit
appeals charges while
Canadians escape
By Debra Fieguth ChristianWeek staff
TETOUAN, MOROCCO–Two Canadians have fled the country and a British citizen is appearing in court after Moroccan officials charged them with violating customs by bringing Bibles into the country.
Canadians Kelly Viinikka and Antero Ylikangas entered Morocco May 30 on the yacht of Graham Hutt. All three were arrested at a marina along with Serge Dechoz, who is French, after Viinikka took some Bibles to the home of Dechoz. Police later searched an apartment belonging to Dechoz and his wife, Anne, where they found 1,200 New Testaments and 500 Bibles.
After being held in prison and interrogated for two days, the four were released on $1,000 bail and sentenced June 5 to two months in prison (suspended) and fined about $42,000 (US) Hutt’s yacht and motor scooter were also confiscated.
Failure to report
The four were told they were being charged with failure to report the Bibles on board the yacht. But in e-mail reports Hutt says he was only asked at customs whether he had arms, ammunition, drugs or alcohol on board his yacht. "Further, two customs officers came aboard and checked the boat and saw some Arabic Bibles, picked one up and looked at it, but said nothing."
Hutt says the customs duty should be less than $100.
The men later learned of additional charges involving illegal entry into Morocco and "endangering the security (stability) of the nation."
The Canadians, both wealthy businessmen, were driven out of Morocco by the Canadian consul, according to one source, who thought they might have gone either to Finland (their country of origin) or Canada. Attempts by ChristianWeek to locate them have not been successful.
An appeal trial for Hutt was scheduled for July 1. But one report said the appeal trial could not go ahead without the other defendants present or at least having been served the summons.
Increasingly nervous
Don Little, who recently returned to Canada after working in Morocco for 10 years with Arab World Ministries, says Moroccan officials have become increasingly nervous about Christians infiltrating the country.
Technically, it is not illegal to bring Bibles into the country, he says. But officials, including the Department of Islamic Affairs, fear an organized, international attempt to subvert Moroccan culture.
"They’re thinking this is not just an isolated incident," says Little. "It means everyone who is in the country is going to be having to move more carefully."
Little says several of his close Moroccan friends have been questioned by police, who are "just trying to figure out what’s going on."
"We’re dealing with a society that appears open but is closed in some matters."
