Christian leader in India run over by Hindu nationalists on motorcycles
Hindu nationalists in India ran over an evangelical leader with motorcycles, accusing the Christian man of forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity.
Christian Persecution – Asia
Young Christian man in Pakistan killed by Muslim for ‘polluting’ water
A young Christian farm worker was killed in Pakistan by a Muslim landowner, who tortured the young man with farm equipment for rinsing himself after his day’s work in a well and ‘polluting’ it.
Family of Christian evangelist in India targeted by tribal villagers
A Christian evangelist in India was targeted by tribal animists in his village, the assailants attacking his wife, mother, and 11 month-old son when he was discovered not to be home and destroying much of his property.
Christians attacked in days prior to Trump’s first India visit
Significant attacks on Christians occurred in the days prior to US President Donald Trump’s first visit to India, during which religious freedom was expected to be a main item in discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
‘Even then we trust God’: Pakistani Christians assaulted by Muslims for trying to build church uniting scattered flock
A Christian man in Pakistan who felt led to gather all the local house churches together into one community has sustained critical injuries after Muslim neighbors surrounded his land and viciously assaulted his family.
Falsely accused Christians in India spread gospel to prisoners
Three Christians accused of forced conversion in India spent two months in prison despite police failing to find evidence of wrongdoing, but the unjust incarceration became an opportunity for the gospel.
New Pakistani social media law could make already infamous ‘blasphemy laws’ more powerful
Pakistan introduced a new law on Jan. 28 requiring social media outlets to remove ‘unwanted or slanderous’ content within 24 hours, and Christians fear it could extend the reach of blasphemy laws that already carry a heavy penalty.
Eight Christians acquitted of false forced conversion charges after two-and-a-half year legal battle
Eight Christians in India falsely accused of trying to forcibly convert children to Christianity were acquitted after a two-and-a-half-year legal battle that saw them imprisoned for months.
India pastor’s house church, which he built with his own hands, all but destroyed
A pastor in India and former carpenter who built his own house church nine years ago has seen his flock all but scattered after villagers, instigated by a local Brahmin with high political connections, dug a trench to prevent people from entering and harassed believers through the month of January.
Christian workers in China witness “holy moment” as North Korean is baptized
A North Korean believer who escaped the hermit kingdom two years ago was recently baptized in the name of Jesus across the border in China, in a secret ceremony onlookers described as a ‘holy moment.’
Rohingya Christians attacked by Muslims in refugee camp
Christians were harassed again at the end of January in the Rohingya refugee camps across the border from Myanmar, from which military persecution forced 700,000 Muslims and a smaller number of Christians to flee recently.
Kidnapped Christian girl in Pakistan returned to family, which is still receiving threats from captors
A 14-year-old Christian girl kidnapped from her school in Pakistan in January as been restored to her family, but not before receiving severe beatings and being raped by her captors, who are still threatening her family.
Pastor in India framed for breaking Hindu idols, arrested by police after suffering abuse from extremists
A pastor in India and his family were held hostage for several hours by Hindu radicals who accused him of carrying out forced conversions and defacing Hindu idols, police blaming and arresting the pastor afterwards.
Christians in India anticipating more persecution in 2020
At least 328 incidents of persecution against Christians occurred in India in 2019, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) India, though Christian leaders there are expecting more to come in 2020.
Underage Christian girls can be married off to Muslim men, Pakistani court rules
A High Court in Pakistan has judged that Muslim men may marry underage Christian girls as long as they have had their first menstrual cycle, contravening an earlier law that forbade marriage for any girl under the age of 18 in the face of widespread abductions.
Christians in Pakistan accused of murdering Muslims released after paying ‘blood money’ to families
A group of Christians in Pakistan accused of killing two Muslims in 2015 in riots that followed Taliban suicide bombings on churches were acquitted last week after paying ‘blood money’ to the victim families.
Christian children attacked by Hindu nationalists in India
Christian children in southern India were beaten by Hindu extremists and the congregation of which their families are a part framed for forced conversions on Jan. 19, as radical groups continue to pressure police to prosecute believers.
Christian Rohingya refugees persecuted by Muslim Rohingya refugees in camp
One Rohingya Christian is missing and 12–several of whom are children–are seriously injured after Muslims of the famously persecuted ethnic group from Myanmar assaulted the small Christian enclave within the refugee community in Bangladesh.
Church and car vandalized, Christians attacked, in West Bengal, India
A mob of Hindu nationalists attacked a church prayer meeting in West Bengal, India on Dec. 27, destroying the pastor’s car, smashing church windows and sound equipment, and forcing believers to flee the scene.
House church pastor beaten by Hindu extremists in India
Hindu extremists attacked a house church pastor at the beginning of January who had been working as a day-laborer to provide for his wife and small children, but now he can barely walk, sustaining not only crippling injuries from the beatings, but also false accusations of bribing people to convert.