Iraq: Court Upholds Christian Girl’s Murder Sentence
Iraq’s Kurdish regional high court has reduced jail time for a teenager who fatally stabbed her uncle as he beat her for converting to Christianity and “shaming” the family by working in public.
Christian Persecution
Afghanistan Taliban Starts Killing 23 South Korean Christians, Body Found
Afghan Police on Wednesday, July 25, found the bullet riddled body of one of 23 South Korean Christians held hostage by the Taliban, shortly after the militant movement said it would begin killing them.
India: Gujarat State Again Tires Secret Survey of Christians
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat state has resumed the secret survey of Christian institutions it began eight years ago. Extremists have used such surveys to target religious minorities for violence.
Taliban Threatens To Kill South Korean Christians In Afghanistan
The militant Taliban movement threatened on Sunday, July 22, to start killing 23 South Korean evangelical Christians if South Korea did not agree to withdraw its 200 military engineers and medics from Afghanistan, and the Afghan government did not free Taliban prisoners.
China Police Raid Vacation Bible School; Children “Traumatized”, Church Leaders Detained
Chinese Christian workers were recovering from injuries Saturday, July 21, after security forces raided a Vacation Bible School (VSB) for children in Jiangsu province, the latest in a series of police raids targeting China’s house church movement which detentions of at least 15 leaders, local Christians and investigators said.
Tense Calm In Ho Chi Minh City After Police Crackdown; Dozens Injured, Massive Arrests
A tense calm returned to the streets of Ho Chi Minh City Thursday, July 19, after dozens of people were injured and hundreds detained when police broke up a massive protest of peasants demanding the return of their lands, dissidents said.
Bangladesh: Christian Villagers Again Beaten, Threatened
Islamic radicals in a Bangladesh village have meted out more beatings and death threats to Christians after a special police force meant to offer protection for three months withdrew after only a week.
Egypt: Security Police Torture Christian Convert Woman
Security police in Alexandria, Egypt have repeatedly tortured a young woman convert to Christianity in custody since Monday (July 16).
Vietnam Police Break Up Peasant Protests; Christians Attacked In Highlands
Hundreds of people were detained as Vietnamese special police forces broke up a massive peasant demonstration for land rights in Ho Chi Min City late Wednesday, July 18, while in the Central Highlands a security crackdown on Degar Montagnard Christians continued, several leading dissidents and investigators told BosNewsLife.
Christians Crucified In Iraq, Dutch MP Says
Militants have crucified Christians in Iraq, including converts from Islam and people involved in “mixed marriages,” a senior Dutch parliamentarian has established.
Vietnam Jails 13 Montagnard House Church Christians
Vietnam sentenced 13 Degar Montagnards, a major ethnic group in the country’s volatile Central Highlands, to prison terms of up to 15 years for “being House Church Christians” and their involvement in religious rights campaigns, representatives said Sunday, July 15.
China Releases House Church Leaders Facing Labor Camp; Others Still Detained
Two key leaders of China’s house church movement who faced the prospect of serving time in a labor camp have been released “on parole” from prison amid international pressure, BosNewsLife learned Saturday, July 14.
China Province To Destroy ‘Prayer Mountain’ Churches
Three “Prayer Mountain” church buildings in China’s Wenzhou city of Zhejiang province are facing “imminent destruction” by the local government, fellow Christians and human rights watchers said Saturday, July 14.
Health Deteriorating Of Jailed Baptist Pastor In Azerbaijan
A frail Baptist pastor prepared for another night in an Azerbaijani prison Friday, July 13, nearly two months after he was arrested on charges over 50 witnesses say are false.
Eritrea Denies Detentions Of 2,000 Christians And Religious Persecution
Christian rights activists expressed concern Wednesday, July 11, over reports that a senior Eritrean government official has “categorically denied the existence of religious repression in Eritrea” and dismissed reports of mass detentions of Christians as “hyperbole”.
Death of Pastor in India Remains Unsolved
Family and friends of Pastor Goda Israel, whose body was found in a pond in Andhra Pradesh in February, say they are still convinced that he was murdered, despite police claims of “accidental drowning.”
Pentecostal Pastors Shot Dead In Colombia
Two Pentecostal pastors have been assassinated in Colombia by suspected leftist rebels, Christian rights activists said Tuesday, July 10.
China Expels Over 100 Foreign Missionaries In “Secret Campaign”
China has secretly expelled more than 100 foreign missionaries in largest expulsion campaign of Christian workers over half a century, a Christian rights activists and other sources confirmed Tuesday, July 10.
Jordan Deports Christian Missionaries And Refugees, Missionaries Say
A growing number of devoted Christians in Jordan, including native missionaries and refugees, are forced to leave the predominantly Muslim nation, missionaries said Tuesday, July 10.
China House Church Leaders Sentenced To Labor Camp
Two leaders of China’s growing house church movement were in a labor camp Sunday, July 8, after being sentenced to “one year re-education through labor” in Shandong province on charges related to their Christian activities, BosNewsLife learned.