A Dutch church service that began a month ago has maintained a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-per-week service for over a month to protect an Armenian refugee family from being deported.
The Tamrazyans, a family of five, have lived in the Netherlands for nearly nine years, but are facing expulsion after a court rejected their appeals to stay in the country.
They are now receiving sanctuary in a Protestant church in The Hague, where under Dutch law, police are prohibited from entering places of worship during religious services, meaning the family cannot be arrested as long as the service continues.
"We do all this by continuously praying, singing, listening to sermons and worshipping," Reverend Axel Wicke, a priest at the Bethel church, tweeted.
"The Tamrazyan family is literally living in a protective house built by prayers and worship."
Sasun Tamrazyan fled Armenia with his wife, Anousche, and their three children after receiving death threats for his political activism, Reverend Wicke told the ABC.
"We know from the family that he also got abducted several times — he was politically active and people in the country were wanting him dead," he said.
They were previously granted asylum by the courts, but that decision was overturned after the Government challenged the ruling.
A last-ditch appeal for a so-called "children's pardon" — which gives residency to refugee children and their families who have been in the country for more than five years — was also rejected this year.
"The Protestant Church of The Hague respects court orders, but finds itself confronted with a dilemma: the choice between respecting the Government and protecting the rights of a child," the church said in a statement.
The church's activism is taking place against the backdrop of a growing far-right movement in the Netherlands and tough refugee policies as Europe struggles to deal with a surge in asylum seeker numbers in recent years.
In the three years between May 2013 and April 2016, only 100 out of 1,360 requests for a children's pardon were granted, according to Government figures.
Reverend Wicke said the way the controversial legislation is being implemented has been on the church's radar "for a long time".
And though the Tamarazyans happen to be devout Christians, he said their religion was not a consideration.
"We would've done it if they were Muslim," he said.
The church has been overwhelmed by support for the service, which began on October 26 and shows no sign of ending any time soon.
"So far, we still receive massive support and can fill the rota pretty well," Reverend Wicke tweeted. "So we keep going."
"There still are many talks going on with politicians behind the curtains, some of which give reason to hope."
The ABC reached out to the Dutch Government for comment but has not received a response.
