Two days after Devlin’s visit, prison officials said the two pastors had been transferred to separate cells in a higher-security prison. The men have not seen their families or attorneys since, and are chained daily, CSW reports. While no reason was given publicly for the pastors’ transfer, some observers point to the failed attempt by Devlin to visit the men.

Two South Sudanese pastors whose legal plight is drawing comparisons to Meriam Ibrahim have been isolated by Sudan. They won’t be heard from until next Thursday, when a judge lets them speak in a Khartoum court.

The question is what role American advocacy played in their relocation to a higher-security prison earlier this month.

The families of Yat Michael (imprisoned for six months) and Peter Yen Reith (imprisoned for five months) were denied visitation on June 4. The day before, a vocal New York City pastor had attempted to visit the two Presbyterian pastors. A few days before that, a Virginia-based Christian TV network aired a telephone interview the two pastors gave from prison.

William Devlin, who pastors Infinity Bible Church in the Bronx, has long advocated for American pastors to travel to “hard, dangerous, difficult places” in support of persecuted Christians. Sudan ranks No. 6 among the world’s most difficult places to be a Christian.

“It’s one thing to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll be praying for you. Here’s some money to help you,’” Devlin told the Christian Post (CP) last year. “But it’s yet another thing to go with our bodies and to say to them, ‘We’re here to encourage you. We’re here just to be with you.’”

Devlin has visited Sudan eight times in the last nine years, including once to pray with Ibrahim, a pregnant mother given a death sentence for refusing to convert to Islam. In her case, substantial international attention is widely credited with her sentence being commuted after she gave birth in prison.

This time, Devlin planned to visit Michael and Reith, who face serious chargespunishable by death or life imprisonment, according to Morning Star News (MSN), which broke their story. The two pastors work with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of South Sudan, which is entangled in a land dispute with private parties supported by the government, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). World Watch Monitor offers more details, as does the African Centre for Peace and Justice Studies.

One witness testified against the men on June 18, and one more testified at today’s hearing [June 25]. Though no evidence has been brought, the pastors’ attorney expects the judge to allow the case to proceed, reports Middle East Concern (MEC). The pastors will be allowed to speak at their next hearing on July 2, according to MEC.

Since South Sudan seceded in July 2011, Christian persecution has increased in Sudan. President Omar al-Bashir adopted a stricter version of Islamic law and recognizes only Islamic culture, MSN reported. Since then, Sudan has stopped issuing building permits for churches, expelled foreign Christians, and bulldozed churches.

The country has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the US State Department since 1999, and the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant forBashir’s arrest on war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Two days after Devlin’s visit, prison officials said the two pastors had been transferred to separate cells in a higher-security prison. The men have not seen their families or attorneys since, and are chained daily, CSW reports.

While no reason was given publicly for the pastors’ transfer, some observers point to the failed attempt by Devlin to visit the men.

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