Argentinian pastor Marcelo Nieva continues to face intimidation and threats, despite the 24/7 presence of the National Gendarmerie outside his church building, it was reported at the end of May.
The federal police office is currently assessing two court cases involving Nieva and his Pueblo Grande Baptist Church, although both have stalled in recent months. The first relates to an attempt on Nieva’s life in October 2014. The second is an appeal for justice relating to his claims that his church has suffered four years of religious persecution at the hands of the local authorities. After months without progress, the church is still awaiting a date for the next court hearing.
Denounced by public figures
Nieva said in 2014 that his church had been denounced by politicians, the police and local newspapers as a ‘controversial sect’ following the introduction in Córdoba state of Argentina’s Law 9891, which claims to exist to ‘achieve early detection and prevention of any situation of psychological manipulation, and to provide assistance to victims of manipulation’. However, Nieva said, the law has been abused and applied to legitimate religious organisations, such as his church, which is recognised by Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship.
Hatred
As a result of the denunciations, ‘hatred’ grew against his church in the local community and police regularly attacked the church, smashing windows and ransacking church property.
The law, which currently only applies to the Córdoba region, could have a significant negative impact on the rest of the country if applied elsewhere.
Court cases
In May last year, an Appeals Court hearing in the city of Villa María, 100 miles south of Córdoba, ruled in favour of Nieva and the Pueblo Grande church, dictating that his case must be heard in a federal court.
Had the Appeals Court ruled against the church, Nieva’s assistant, Carolina Villarroel said, Nieva and his colleague Daniel Carreño would have lost the federal guards assigned to them after the October 2014 assassination attempt. Instead, the court mandated that the church would receive the indefinite 24/7 protection of guards from the more senior National Gendarmerie.
‘Our case represents a big problem for the province because it was the police who raided our church, repeatedly assaulted the members of our congregation and failed to perform their duty as officials’, Villarroel said.
Breakthrough
The fact that the government employed the National Gendarmerie to protect the church ‘shows the seriousness of the case and is a breakthrough for the whole evangelical church in Argentina’, said Villarroel. ‘This unprecedented case has the potential to benefit all evangelicals in Argentina, after the Federal Court of Appeals recognised the systematic persecution and discrimination against members of our church and urged the relevant judicial authorities to act as quickly as possible. The fact that we are still under the protection of the Gendarmerie shows how complicated and deep the case is and demonstrates the scale of the fierce battle that has been waged for several years. We want every citizen of Argentina to be able to freely practise their religion, as it says in the Constitution.’
Still frightened
However, church members are still scared.
‘The Gendarmerie only protects the church building and parishioners when they visit. But church members still live in fear of attacks, which are happening constantly, whether by civilians or police, as well as the constant harassment of local justice’, Villarroel said.
According to the church’s lawyer, Zeverin Escribano, ‘the persecution of Pueblo Grande is due to [the church’s efforts to fight] drug trafficking, people trafficking, judicial collusion, the intervention of some local media and relatives of women who were taken care of by the church, and some who have a relationship with the police’. He said that he has never known such an ‘attack on freedom of worship’ in his 37 years in work, and called it ‘a major setback in Argentina, a country that boasts of being “tolerant”’.
