Myanmar: Baptist bishop arrested and detained by military junta

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A well-known Baptist bishop in Myanmar has been detained at an undisclosed location after being arrested by the military junta Sunday because of his Bible teaching, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

Known locally as the Tatamadaw, the Buddhist Myanmar military junta overthrew the government in a military coup last year: the junta has since been fighting pro-democracy organizations and attacking minority faith groups, especially Christians, in a violent effort to remain in control.

Bishop Hkalam Samson was arrested at Mandalay International Airport while trying to leave for Thailand for medical treatment, CP said. The bishop serves as an adviser to Myanmar’s Kachin Baptist Convention and as president of the Kachin National Consultative Assembly: Kachin is a predominantly Christian state which borders China.

Samson is understood to have been taken to Kachin for prosecution, but it is not known what the charges are or where he is being held, CP said.

“We were shown video files of the bishop’s speeches and told he had committed offenses,” the Rev. Lahpai Zau Ra, deputy secretary of the KBC, said in a Facebook post Wednesday, “We were shown points he preached in Bible classes. We were told they were preparing to take action because he is guilty,” Ra wrote.

Samson oversaw the funerals of 60 victims of a Tatmadaw airstrike in Hpakant township on October 23, CP reports.

Myanmar ranks 12th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2022 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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