REVEREND Al Miller, the embattled pastor now facing criminal charges after being found in the presence of former fugitive Christopher Dudus Coke, said yesterday that he was not afraid of going to prison for his action, while maintaining that he had done nothing wrong.

Miller, who was addressing his Fellowship Tabernacle church in St Andrew, said he was not looking forward to imprisonment but should that happen, it would be for the glory of God.

I told you...dont worry about me. Going to jail, Im only numbered among the righteous for God, said Miller in reference to earlier Christians, like Paul, Peter, and James, who were imprisoned for professing Christ.

Miller urged members to never stop giving praise to God, who does all things well, no matter the outcome of his trial.

The pastor is currently facing charges of harbouring a fugitive and perverting the course of justice after he was found in the company of Coke when his vehicle was stopped along the Mandela Highway, near the border of St Catherine and St Andrew on June 22. Coke, who was wanted in the US on drugs and gunrunning charges, was disguised in a wig, according to the police.

Cokes apprehension that day brought an end to the four-week nationwide manhunt. He has since been extradited to the US.

Miller had said from the outset that he had done nothing wrong. He said in numerous interviews that he had been taking Coke to the US Embassy in Kingston for him to be handed over to the police commissioner.

One of Millers lawyers, Leslie Campbell, told the Observer last Friday that the police was aware of the plan to bring Coke in, and questioned how his client could be charged with harbouring a criminal while travelling on a highway and at 2:00 in the afternoon.

But both the police and prosecutors have said that there was no agreement for Coke to be taken to the US. The prosecution has said that Miller was stopped twice by the police but he instead sped off before his vehicle was intercepted.

When he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrates Court on Friday, Miller pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his $200,000 bail was extended for him to return on July 27. Millers legal team said the charges would be vigorously contested.

Under mounting pressure, Miller has since taken leave from the helm of the National Transformation Programme, which is being run out of the Office of the Prime Minister.

Yesterday, Millers brother, George, asked congregants to pray for the embattled pastor not for the legal trouble to pass but for God to strengthen him.