From, The Underground:

An Algerian court acquitted recently two Christians who were arrested for eating their lunch in the daytime during Ramadan.

A judge in a court at Ain el Hamman, about 93 miles east of the capital city, Algiers, quashed the case against Salem Fellak, 34, and Hocine Hocini, 33, saying that “no article (of law) provides for a legal pursuit” against them, according to The Star.

Fellak and Hocini were working on a building site last August when the incident occurred. During lunch hour, they ate at a discreet corner of the site, The Star said. However, they were arrested and charged with offending public morals, Reuters reported.

Prosecutors were requesting for a prison sentence of three years each for the Christians, BBC News said. However, Hocini and Fellak noted that they ate in a nonpublic place. Their lawyer added, “Algeria has ratified international conventions on the freedom of religion” and called the charges “a violation pure and simple of the constitution,” The Star reported.

As the verdict was read, a group of some seven Protestant Christians who were standing on the courthouse steps shouted, “Hallelujah!” Fallek told Reuters, “I am happy. I have not done anything wrong. I am a Christian and I do not fast.”

Some critics noted that although the government supports free practice of religion, minority faiths are often subject to pressure, Reuters said. Two similar cases will be heard in the coming weeks, according to BBC News.

While Islam is the main religion in Algeria, there are about 11,000 Christians, mostly protestants, among its population of 36 million, the ministry of religious affairs told BBC News