Imprisoned with ISIS: Petr Jasek's Story

In December of 2015 Petr Jasek was about to fly home to Prague after conducting a four-day fact-finding mission in Sudan for the Voice of the Martyrs.  Petr worked for VOM since 2002 and was no stranger to their plight in Suday.  He had visited numerous areas of the nation, including the Nuba mountains, from 2002-2011.  However, this trip would prove to end much differently than his previous ones.  As Petr was in the airport of Khartoum, preparing to fly home, he was stopped by Sudanese authorities and taken in for questioning.  Under Sudanese law, anyone trying to shed light on the plight of the Christians, the Africans of Darfur, or any other targeted group could be charged with the crime of "espionage."  What began as a four-day fact-finding mission ultimately became a 445 day incarceration in various Sudanese prisons.  There were times when Petr wondered if he would ever leave Sudan alive.  

Christians were no strangers to persecution in this country.  Ever since President Omar Hassan al-Bashir rose to power in 1989 the nation embarked on a three-decade campaign that targeted Christians and non-Arabs for extermination.  Bashir launched a viscous campaign to both Islamize and Arabize the nation, leading him to engage in a vicious war against the Muslim and non-Muslim African people of the South Sudan.  By the time the South Sudan officially gained its independence in 2011, Bashir had killed over two million people in the region.  To quell civilian uprisings, Bashir then turned his attention to Darfur and enlisted Arab militias (Janjaweed) to attack civilians throughout the region.  Over 300,000 have been killed and another four million displaced.  Petr likewise, was no stranger to persecution.  Having grown up in communist Czechoslovakia, Petr's father was constantly arrested and harassed by the Secret Police due to the fact that he was a Pastor, and Petr's mother was also repeatedly denied employment as a school teacher because she refused to sign the pledge of loyalty to the Communist Government.  This persecution helped Petr understand what to say and not say during interrogations, but nothing could have prepared him for the incarceration that he would endure.  

During his interrogation, Petr learned that he had been followed by the Sudanese Secret Police for some time.  Not only had they followed him around for his entire 4-Day Trip, he even learned that they had been tracking him two months earlier when he met Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia and they knew he worked for VOM.  After his interrogation, Petr was taken to and NISS prison for political prisoners and was put into a cell with 6 others, whom he soon learned were members of ISIS.  These fighters were imprisoned not because the Sudanese leaders disagreed with their ideology, but because they didn't want compete with ISIS to control the country.  

Petr soon learned that these men were very bright and intelligent.  They were doctors, computer engineers, and pharmacists.  One of the prisoners, Abd al-Bar was an arms dealer who had supplied ISIS with guns.  He bought guns in the Sudan for $200 U.S. and sold them in England for 5000 English Pounds.  Though raised in Saudi Arabia, he was educated in England where he he ran a successful IT business before joining ISIS.  Another of his cellmates was a Libyan who once served as Osama bin Laden's bodyguard and also partook in the infamous beheading of 21 Coptic Christians on the shores of Libya on Feb. 12, 2015.  He was known by his cellmates as "The Man of the Sword."  

Due to their ongoing incarceration, theses ISIS fighters had no idea what was going on in the world outside the prison.  Petr informed them of the the Nov. 2015 attack on Paris and the ongoing attacks on Christians by Boko Haram.  The terrorists responded with Jubilation.  When the terrorists learned that Petr was a Christian, they responded harshly, subjecting him to constant beatings with their hands, feet, and a broom handle.  He was forced to wash their clothes and clean the toilet.  He was also informed that the only reason he was still alive was his nationality.  Had he been an American or a Russian, they would have killed him.  Fortunately, not all the prisoners and guards were like this.  One sympathetic guard found out what was happening to him and moved him to a safer cell, and eventually to a solitary confinement cell, where he was housed for a time with another Muslim.  Unlike his ISIS cellmates, this man prisoner was kind.  His cellmates lawyer had secured the Muslim gentleman extra rations due to the fact that he had a heart condition, and he willingly shared them with Petr.  Petr. later credited this prisoner and guard with saving his life.  Had it not been for the guard moving him to another cell and allowing Petr access to medicine, and had it not been for the prisoner providing Petr with extra food, he may not have survived his incarceration.  

After months of imprisonment and interrogation, Petr was put on trial with three other Sudanese Christians that he met during his visit: Pastor Hassan, Pastor Kuwa, and Brother Monim.  The charges included "Joint execution of criminal conspiracy, undermining the constitutional system, waging war against the state, espionage against the country, entering and photographing military areas and works, providing hatred against or amongst sects, publication of false news, illegally entering Sudan, running activities for charity organizations without a license, and giving tangible support to the Sudan People’s Liberation Arby in the Nuba Mountains.”  

Petr in Prison with Pastor Hassan, Pastor Kuwa, & Brother Monim

The trial was a complete farce.  The prosecution spent three months putting the case against the four Christians together, but their defense lawyer dismantled it in three days.  Despite this, the judge still sentenced Brother Monim and Pastor Hassan to 12 years while Petr got life in prison.  Pastor Kuwa was acquitted only because he never met Petr during his visit and had only loaned Pastor Hassan his car.  Luckily, Petr's case drew international attention, which left President Bashir little choice to to pardon Petr and allow him to leave the country after a 445 day incarceration.  Pastor Hassan and Brother Monim were pardoned and released a short time later.  

Petr suffered terrible during his incarceration.  In addition to the beatings at the hands of the ISIS militants and ongoing illness, he lost 55lbs during his incarceration.  Petr was apart from his wife and children for over a year, who constantly worried for his safety.  However, thanks to diplomatic intervention and a cell phone Petr managed to smuggle into a prison inside a loaf of bread, he was able to keep his family updated on his situation.  Petr's faith grew significantly in prison.  He often spoke at the Prison Chapel, studied the Bible more carefully than ever, and even helped bring some of his fellow prisoners to Jesus.  

Petr prayed often for others who were wrongly imprisoned for their faith, he even prayed for his ISIS tormentors, remembering how Jesus taught us to "Love our enemies and pray for our persecutors."  Petr is still continuing his work with the Voice of the Martyrs and is determined to continue bringing the plight of persecuted Christians to the world.  

Sources:

Jasek, Petr & Rebecca George.  Imprisoned with ISIS: Faith in the Face of Evil.  Washington D.C.: Salem Books, 2020

McKay, Holly.  "What it is Like to be a Christian Activist Jailed with ISIS Operatives in Sudan."  Fox News.  May 18, 2020.  Accessed from https://www.foxnews.com/world/what-it-is-like-to-be-a-christian-activist-jailed-with-isis-operatives-in-sudan.