Iran Detains Christian Blogger
A Christian online writer who already received lashes for expressing her faith in Christ and criticizing Iran’s human rights abuses has been detained again, supporters said Thursday.
Christian Persecution
Cuban Pastor arrested for leading “illegal” church released after 10 days
Pastor Karel Parra Rosabal, who was arrested and detained for 10 days in Cuba on the grounds that he leads an “illegal” church, has been released and told that all charges against him have been dropped, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports. Pastor Parra Rosabal leads the unregistered Fuego y Dinámica Apostolic Church in Jobabo, Las Tunas: the Cuban government refuses to recognize and register Apostolic churches.
Turkey continues to desecrate historical churches
Turkey is continuing its neglect of historical churches, in what is reportedly an ongoing effort by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to lead the country further into Islamic culture, International Christian Concern reports.
Report lists countries were Christians are most persecuted
The Open Doors persecution watchdog has published its 2021 list of countries where it is most dangerous for Christians to practice their faith, Christianity Today reports. Published this month, the list is based on grassroots reports from Open Door workers between November 1, 2019, and October 31, 2020.
Ethiopia: “Urgent” humanitarian crisis now unfolding
Ethiopia is in the midst of a full-blown humanitarian crisis as refugees flee to the border with Sudan and up to two million people face starvation while the government wars against a separatist group in the country’s Tigray region, CBN News reports. Among daily reports of mass killings on both sides is the reported massacre of over 700 Orthodox Christians outside their church in Tigray’s city of Aksum earlier this month.
Nigeria: Abductors release Christian university professor while country leads world for deadly persecution
The deputy vice-chancellor of the Christian Anchor University in Lagos state, Nigeria has reportedly been released after being kidnapped by suspected Muslim Fulani herdsmen on Jan. 18, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. John Fatokun is understood to have been released on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Nevertheless, Nigeria ranks number one on the 2021 World Watch List for countries in which Christians are killed for their faith.
International advocacy group calls for immediate release of Cuban pastor detained on “trumped-up charges”
The international Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) human rights organization has called for the immediate release of a pastor who is in custody in Cuba on what the group says are “trumped-up charges.” Cuban pastor Karel Parra Rosabal was arrested in Las Tunas on January 12 apparently because of his involvement with the Apostolic Movement, a network of independent churches that the Cuban government refuses to register, rendering them effectively illegal.
Ethiopia: Government forces reportedly killed an estimated 750 people in church massacre
The Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA) has reported that an estimated 750 people were recently killed by Ethiopian government forces and Amhara militia in an attack on a church in Tigray in northern Ethiopia, Christian Today reports.
China officials raid homeschool house run by persecuted megachurch: Members post “Please Pray!”
Police and government officials last week raided a homeschool house run by the highly persecuted Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, the Christian Post (CP) reports. Following the raid on January 14, members of the 5,000-strong ERCC congregation took to social media imploring Christians around the world to pray for them.
India: Christians persecuted even during lockdown in 2020
The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) has reported that, even in the midst of coronavirus lockdowns affecting the whole country for months, there were over 300 incidents of religious persecution against Christians in India last year, International Christian Concern said. In its report, EFI noted that Christian persecution has more than doubled since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and his right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.
Dozens of Pygmy citizens slaughtered by Islamist militia in DR Congo: “Impotent government does nothing”
Forty-six Pygmies were slaughtered by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) Islamist militia group in Ituri province in eastern DR Congo on Thursday, the Defense Post reports. Described as a “terrorist group” by International Christian Concern (ICC), the ADF is accused of slaughtering over 1000 Congolese citizens in the last year.
India: Hindu nationalist leader threatens violence unless local authorities shut all churches in tribal areas
A Hindu nationalist leader in India’s Madhya Pradesh state has demanded that local authorities shut down all churches in the state’s tribal areas, falsely claiming that Christians are carrying out mass conversions on “gullible indigenous peoples,” International Christian Concern reports. Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Azad Prem Singh threatened violent action if his January 11 demand is not met within 30 days.
Muslim gang attack Uganda pastor and his wife, destroy church building
Incited by local mosque leaders, a gang of Muslims in eastern Uganda beat up a pastor and his wife because they offered help to an Imam who recently came to faith in Christ, Morning Start News reports.
Pakistan: Christian leader threatened with death for Facebook post criticizing Islam
A Christian lay leader in Pakistan was taken into police custody last month as hundreds of Muslims descended on his Lahore neighborhood threatening to kill him for sharing a post against Islam on his Facebook page, Morning Star News reports. The outraged mob also threatened to burn down homes in Raja Warris’ neighborhood in the Charar area of Lahore, causing Pakistani Christians in the community to flee for their lives.
Cameroon: Boko Haram sends young girl to blow herself up and kill 12 farmers
The Boko Haram Islamic terrorist group sent a young girl to murder 12 farmers in a “suicide” attack in the Mayo Tsanaga area of Northern Cameroon on January 8, 2021, International Christian Persecution (ICC) reports.
India: First Christians arrested and jailed under anti-conversion law in Uttar Pradesh state
The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has charged and jailed its first Christians under a new anti-conversion law, International Christian Concern reports. A Korean Christian and three Indian nationals in the Gautam Buddh Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh were arrested under the new Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance on December 19, 2020.
China: A Pastor and five women arrested following house church raid by government officials
A house church in China’s Taiyuan city was raided by forty government officials who arrested the pastor and five female members of the congregation at the same time, Christian Headlines reported Monday. While the five women were released some hours after the raid, Pastor An Yankui, whose home the church meets in, was detained for 15 days.
German Police Raid Church Service Amid Europe Crackdown
German police stormed a church service as pressure mounts on Europe’s devoted Christians to stop gathering or accept government rules amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Islamist Militants Kill Dozens In Niger
Suspected Islamist militants have killed scores of people in simultaneous attacks on two villages in Niger, near the border with Mali, security officials said.
China Jails Christian Journalist For COVID-19 Investigations
China faces international pressure for sentencing an independent Christian journalist to four-year imprisonment over her coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan city. Zhang Zhan, 37, reportedly saw it as “God’s will’ to be among the few people whose firsthand accounts from crowded hospitals and empty streets painted a more gloomy picture of the COVID-19 epicenter than the official narrative.