Two Pastors arrested in Rajasthan
Police arrested Pastor Philip Abraham from Noida and Pastor Jacob Kunjumon from Mumbai in Ganga Nagar, Rajasthan on March 23, 2007 with the charges of alleged force conversion and insulting Hindu gods.
Christian Persecution
Pastor Shot Dead While Praying in Trinidad
A 34-year-old pastor was shot dead while he was praying with others in his church on Wednesday, March 21 at the St. Mary’s Village of Gomaz Trace in Moruga, the southern sea town in Trinidad.
Assam Pastor Beaten
A Gospel for Asia missionary working in Assam, India, was badly beaten on March 21 during what appears to be a robbery attempt. GFA missionary Bansi Samoun, along with staff members from a GFA Bridge of Hope center and their driver, had traveled to a neighboring village with plans to distribute school supply bags to children when the incident occurred. Upon their arrival in the village, a group of known militants approached them, demanding the key to their vehicle.
Uzbekistan Pastor Appeals Against Labor Camp Sentence
Protestant pastor Dmitry Shestakov has appealed against the four-year sentence to one of Uzbekistan’s open labor camps which was imposed by authorities in retaliation for his Christian work, investigators and local Christians close to the case said Friday, March 23.
Indonesia Militants Imprisoned For Beheading Christian Girls
An Islamic militant began serving a 20-year jail sentence Thursday, March 22, on charges of plotting the 2005 beheadings of three Christian girls on Indonesia’s volatile Sulawesi island. Two other militants involved in the crime were sentenced to 14 years.
Nigeria: Sokoto State Stifles Growth of Church Buildings
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Nigeria, is also one of the fastest growing churches in Africa. It is a cradle of miraculous healing, signs and wonders, but there is one miracle the church in this northern city has been unable to muster: keeping a Shiite sect from taking over its property.
China “Beats” And Detains Wife Of Chinese House Church Leader, Group Says
The mistreated wife of a senior Chinese house church leader was sentenced to ten days administrative detention in Henan province on Monday, March 19, on charges of “disturbing public order,” observers close to the trial said.
China Releases House Church Leader; Mother Remains Detained
A senior house church leader was free Saturday, March 17, after being released following ten days administrative detention, but the 77-year old mother of a Christian activist remained behind bars, representatives said.
Nigeria: Muslims Kidnap, Convert Christian Children
Beginning in November of last year, 13-year-old Victor Udo Usen, a member of the Christ Apostolic Church in this northern Nigeria city, went missing.
Indian Hindu Militants Burn Down Church, Attack Pastors
Christians in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, March 14, were preparing to rebuild their church, hours after it was burnt down by Hindu militants, while elsewhere in the country several Christian leaders were recovering from injuries following violent attacks against them.
Uzbekistan: Pastor Condemned to Four Years in Uzbek Gulag
An Uzbek criminal court has sentenced Christian pastor Dmitry Shestakov to four years in a prison colony for alleged “illegal†religious activities.
Zimbabwe police crush prayer and protest rally
One person was killed, a number injured and over 35 arrested in Harare on Sunday, March 11, after hundreds of armed riot police used shotguns and teargas to shut down a prayer meeting about the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe.
Four Christians Missing In Sri Lanka As Fighting Intensifies
There was mounting concern Tuesday, March 13, about the whereabouts of an evangelical Sri Lankan pastor, his two sons, and another Christian young man who disappeared this month amid intense fighting between Sri Lanka’s government forces and the independence seeking Tamil Tiger rebels, Christians said.
Vietnam Releases Christian Activist But Human Rights Lawyer Remains Detained
A Christian pro-democracy activist was released by Vietnamese authorities Tuesday, March 13, after spending over 12 hours in police custody, but the whereabouts of a human rights lawyer remained unknown, dissidents told BosNewsLife.
India: Pastor Tied, Beaten with Wooden Clubs
Police officers and members of a Hindu extremist group in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday (March 11) lured a pastor into a remote forest, where the extremists tied his hands and feet and beat him with wooden clubs as they accused him of offering money for Hindus to convert to Christianity.
India: Dubious ‘Reconversion’ Movement Expands
Hindu extremists have extended to the northern state of Himachal Pradesh a movement to bring Christian converts back to the Hindu fold through dubious “reconversion†events.
Salem Voice Ministries Missionary Attacked in Kashmir
A Salem Voice Ministries missionary in Jammu and Kashmir was attacked on March 6 in Kupwara in Jammua and Kashmir, India.
Vietnam Pastor And Wife “Brutally Beaten” As Part Of Crackdown
A prominent Mennonite pastor and his wife were recovering Sunday, March 11, from “brutal” beatings by Vietnamese security forces as part of a government crackdown on dissidents, a key activist told BosNewsLife.
Vietnam Launches “Worst Crackdown” In Dissidents “In 20 Years”
A major human rights watchdog accused the Vietnamese government on Friday, March 9 of “flouting” its commitments on human rights by launching “one of the worst crackdowns on peaceful dissidents,” including Christians, “in 20 years.”
Uzbekistan Sentences Prominent Protestant Pastor Shestakov To Four Years In Exile
Prominent Protestant pastor Dmitry Shestakov was sentenced Friday, March 9, to four years’ exile within Uzbekistan for his evangelistic activities, Christian rights watchers observing the trial said.