This is a continuation of a campaign we launched a few months ago asking for freedom for Czech missionary Petr Jasek. The original petition received more than 388,000 signatures:

http://www.citizengo.org/en/pr/38460-czech-missionary-wrongly-imprisoned-sudan-sign-here

On Sunday, January 29, the court in Khartoum (Sudan) sentenced Petr Jasek, a Czech humanitarian worker and missionary, to 20 years in prison. The court found him guilty of all the crimes he was charged with, including espionage and inciting hatred.

The ruling came as a shock to Jasek’s friends and family. His legal team is currently investigating all possible means to get the ruling overturned.

We must act now to ensure the release of Petr Jasek and the two Sudanese men who were charged with him.

Please sign this urgent petition. This petition asks Sudan’s President, Mr. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, to free Jasek. The petition is also being sent to the embassies of Canada, the United States, the Holy See, Russia, and the United Kingdom in Khartoum. We ask these embassies to actively encourage Sudan’s President to free Petr Jasek. International pressure on the Sudanese government is essential to ensure that Jasek is granted amnesty.

The Sudanese men who were accused alongside Jasek were also found guilty. Hassan Taour is a religious leader in Sudan and Abdulmonem Abdumawla is a graduate who lives in Darfur. Both have been sentenced to 12 years for - according to the courts - helping Jasek in his espionage work.

In addition, the courts have condemned these men for circulating rumors that threaten to undermine the authority of the government, a crime that is punishable by a legal maximum of 6 months. The court, however, sentenced them to one year under this charge, twice the legal maximum!

To condemn Petr to 20 years behind bars at his age, 52 years, is akin to condemning him to life behind bars... For being a Christian!

We must not abandon Petr Jasek now. Our campaign may have helped Jasek avoid the death penalty, but 20 years is still far too large a punishment for an imaginary crime.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Lubomir Zaoralek, stressed that the release of the Petr Jasek "is a priority." He stressed that the sentence "is unjust” and that Jasek was sentenced without any evidence.  

Please write to the President of Sudan and ask for amnesty for Petr Jasek.

---

Further Resources:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/29/czech-fm-20-year-sentence-for-czech-in-sudan-groundless.html

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/03/08/filmmaker-arrested-in-sudan-for-documenting-christian-persecution/