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Argentina

Attempted murder of Baptist Pastor

28 Oct 2014

CSW is calling for a full investigation and charges to be brought against those responsible for the attempted murder of Baptist Pastor Mercelo Nieva in Rio Tercero, Cordoba Province, Argentina.

Pastor Nieva, who leads the Pueblo Grande Baptist Church which works with victims of domestic violence, sex trafficking and drug addicts, was shot at multiple times while driving in Río Tercero on the evening of 21 October along with church member Daniel Carreño. They were not wounded.

However, a group of national and provincial Baptist leaders in Argentina have expressed alarm at the attack, pointing out that the attempted murder of the pastor is the latest and most severe instance of a pattern of threats and harassment. In a joint statement, the group, which includes the Argentinian Evangelical Baptist Convention and the Association of Evangelical Baptists Churches of the Province of Cordoba, directly accused “narco-trafficking linked assassins who have infiltrated the Cordoba Police and out of revenge [have targeted him] because of his pastoral work and the earlier complaint he filed about them to the Federal Court of Cordoba.”

Dr Alejandro Zeverin Escribano, the lawyer representing Pastor Nieva, indicated that the Federal Court of Cordoba immediately ordered that the pastor and Carreño be assigned federal guards for their protection. He pointed out that the new protection order followed a Federal Court order this summer to provide the church with round the clock protection. Dr Zeverin Escribano expressed concern that the protection order did not go far enough, and echoed calls for a full investigation and the prosecution of those responsible for the campaign of harassment, attacks and recent murder attempt.

Pastor Nieva received national and international support last year when charges were brought against him under “anti-cult” legislation adopted on the provincial level. Argentinian denominational leaders and legal experts criticised the vaguely written anti-cult law used to target the church, which belongs to a denomination with a 105-year history in the country. They told CSW that they believe the pastor was targeted by corrupt politicians and members of the local police force because of the church’s work with victims of sex trafficking and drug addicts.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “We were disturbed to receive news of the attempted murder of Pastor Marcelo Nieva and the attack on his vehicle while he was driving with a member of his church. This is the culmination of a long campaign of harassment and attacks on Pastor Nieva and his church, and we are concerned that impunity will only embolden those responsible. We thank the Argentinian Federal Government for the protection it has assigned to Pastor Neiva and the church, but call on government officials to do more to ensure that these kinds of attacks do not happen again. We also call on the government to repeal the anti-cult legislation which has been manipulated to target this pastor and church and constitutes a serious threat to freedom of religion or belief in Argentina.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

Notes to Editors:

1. CSW has regularly expressed concern about the adoption of anti-cult legislation which can be used to limit freedom of religion or belief. Such legislation often goes beyond targeting criminal actions to criminalise a system of belief and non-criminal acts of worship. Minority religious groups, even those with a lengthy history, are often targeted by these laws. Law 9891 in Argentina, which has only been adopted at the state level, exemplifies the problematic nature of these laws and their potential for arbitrary and abusive implementation in Article 1, which states that “any person who demonstrates a change in personality is a possible victim of a dangerous cult that uses coercive methods of manipulation.” Argentinian religious leaders have expressed concern that the law on the provincial level is a test run for an attempt to past anti-cult legislation on the national level.

2. The group of pastors who denounce the attempt on Pasotr Marcelo Nieva's life include Dr. Jorge Ferrari, the Secretary for the Argentinian Evangelical Baptist Convention and/or the Argentinian Evangelical Baptist Confederation (CEBA), the Directors of the Association of Evangelical Baptist Churches of the Province of Córdoba, which belongs to CEBA, led by Pastor Sergio Bettin, and its directing board represented by the following pastors: Pastor Alejandro Adjian, Dr Pablo Nieva and Pastor Hugo Cepeda.

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