Authorities Close India Church Over Hindu Protests
Christians in eastern India are questioning the sealing of their church building after authorities ordered the believers to stop gathering for worship, a rights group said Thursday.
Christian Persecution – Asia
Pakistan Bails Mentally Challenged Christian After 3 Years In Jail
A mentally challenged Christian man has been released on bail after spending three years in a Pakistani jail on trumped-up charges of blasphemy against Islam, his lawyer told Worthy News late Tuesday.
Myanmar: Military junta continues systematic destruction of Christian homes
As Myanmar’s Tatmadaw military junta continues its deadly rampage against opponents and non-Buddhists, Christians in the country’s central regions are being terrorized as the army systematically destroys hundreds of their homes, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
India States Detain Pastors Over ‘Forced Conversions,’ Death
A pastor and his wife are among the first Christians to face prosecution under controversial anti-conversion legislation that has been introduced in India’s southwestern state of Karnataka, while another couple faces similar charges elsewhere in India. Pastor V. Kuriyachan, 62, and his wife Selenamma, 57, were detained for two weeks shortly after Karnataka’s governor signed the legislation on May 17, for allegedly converting Hindus to Christianity, police and Christians said.
India: Christians suffer arrest and imprisonment in Uttar Pradesh, ”Our lives are in danger”
At least 30 Christians were imprisoned on false charges in India’s Uttar Pradesh state last month, as Hindu nationalists continue to abuse the state’s harsh anti-conversion laws and accuse believers of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Pakistan Christian Teenage Girl Rescued After Kidnapping
A Christian teenage girl who was kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man in Pakistan has returned home, Worthy News learned Saturday.
Police Burns Church Building In Central India
Nearly four months after their thatched-roof church building was torched, Christian villagers in central India have expressed concern that the suspect has not been charged.
India: Christian pastors ordered to cease all ministry
Christian pastors in India’s Uttar Pradesh state were summoned to a police station earlier this month and ordered to cease all house church gatherings and religious activities unless they had a permit from the District Magistrate, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
India: Hindu authorities shut down church following complaints about conversions to Christianity
A pro-Hindu news outlet reported approvingly on May 24 that authorities in India’s Odisha state shut down a church following complaints about local tribal residents converting to Christianity. Persecution against Christians in India has intensified greatly since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.
Pakistan: Catholic girl abducted, forced to marry Muslim man, family “pleading with police” for help
A 15-year-old Catholic girl in Faisalabad, Pakistan was abducted by a Muslim man earlier this month and has now been forced to marry him, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Rights groups report that at least 1,000 Christian and Hindu girls and women are forcibly married to Muslim men every year in Pakistan.
India: Christians wait for authorities to investigate policeman who burned down church building
Christians in India’s Chhattisgarh state are waiting expectantly for authorities to take action against a Hindu police officer who they believe burned down their church building earlier this year because he did not like their worship services, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. As persecution against Christians by Hindu extremists continues to intensify, believers report that obtaining justice is difficult because police officers are being radicalized by Hinduist hardliners.
Pakistan Pastor Facing Death For “Blasphemy”
The wife and friends of frail pastor Zafar Bhatti, Pakistan’s longest jailed blasphemy suspect, fear he may soon be executed or die of poor health.
India Christians Homeless After Hindu Attacks
Several Christian families in India’s eastern state of Odisha are still homeless and “in dire need of groceries” after Hindu extremists attacked them, several sources told Worthy News.
Myanmar Army In Christian Village; Thousands Flee
Thousands of refugees faced another tense day Thursday after reportedly being forced to flee their Christian village in northwestern Myanmar as the army attacked it.
India: 18 Christians jailed after closed case is reopened
Eighteen Christians who were falsely accused in a five-year-old closed vandalism case in India’s Chhattisgarh state were re-arrested and jailed for several days in the same case before being ordered to reappear in court on April 29, Morning Star News (MSN).
Thousands Of Myanmar Christians Flee To India
Thousands of Christian men, women, and children have entered northeast India to escape deadly violence in neighboring Myanmar, Christian leaders, and aid workers say.
‘India Police Torture Pastor Over Conversion’
A pastor in northern India is recovering from injuries after he was allegedly detained and tortured by police on false charges of converting people to faith in Christ.
Pakistan: Christian school raided by armed men
The Global Passion Christian school in Pakistan was last week raided by armed men who demanded money and violently assaulted students and female staff, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
US Commission: ‘Afghan Christians Face Death’
The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) says Afghanistan should be designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to the persecution of Christians and other minorities.
Report: ‘Myanmar Christians Face Genocide’; Prayers Urged
Christian rights investigators have urged believers to pray for faith communities after a new report suggested that Myanmar’s minority Christians face genocide by the ruling military.