China Court Hearing Set For Prominent House Church Leader
An influential Chinese house church leader was to appear Thursday, April 6, for a potentially decisive court hearing after over 16 months in police custody, a Christian news agency reported.
Christian Persecution
Christian Girl in Nigeria Has Muslim Man Forced on Her
“If you are forcing me to marry a man who is a Muslim simply because of my decision to become a Christian, then I will rather have you kill me than accept to marry this man.”
Colombia Evangelicals Condemn Assassinations of Pastors
Colombia’s main evangelical churches have urged the government and rebel groups to end an armed struggle, after the killings of over 130 evangelical pastors and “countless” other civilians, Christian activists said Tuesday April 4.
Vietnam Still Pressuring Hmong Christians
Documents and information released for first time today by Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom show that, despite its claims of liberalization, the Government of Vietnam is continuing its repression of Hmong Christians in the northwest provinces of Vietnam.
India’s Supreme Court Denies Tribal Posts to Converts
The Supreme Court last Tuesday (March 28) quietly ruled that conversion of tribal people to Christianity could disqualify them from running for some elective offices if the posts involve religious functions.
Algeria Bans Promoting Christianity
Evangelical Christians in Algeria faced another tense day Friday, March 31, after the Algerian parliament approved a law banning the promotion of other religions than Islam, BosNewsLife learned.
Property of Hre Christians in Vietnam Burned Down
Less than a year after believers in Vietnam’s central Quang Ngai province saw some of their dwellings destroyed, a mob burned down five homes of other Hre minority Christians in the legally-recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South).
More Afghanistan Christians Face Execution, Rights Group Warns
Religious rights investigators warned Thursday, March 30, that thousands of people in Afghanistan could face execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, a day after Italy granted asylum to a Christian convert.
Missionaries Warn Of “Crackdown” in Belarus
An influential evangelical mission group in the former Soviet Union expressed concern Wednesday, March 29, over a “crackdown” on Christian believers in Belarus following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Teacher Accused of Blasphemy in Nigeria Disappears
Florence Chuckwu, a Christian teacher at the Government Day Secondary School in the capital of Bauchi state, went to work on the morning of February 20 with no hint that her attempt to exercise classroom control would threaten her life and lead to the killing of more than 20 believers.
India State Jails Hopegivers Mission Leader Thomas, Despite Appeals
In a move expected to raise international concerns, the leader of one of India’s largest evangelical mission groups was Wednesday, March 29, in a Kota Central Jail of the state of Rajasthan, which has been shaken by religious strife, officials said.
Rights Groups Unite Against “Religious Repression” in Eritrea
Several key Christian human rights groups have launched a united campaign against what they see as “widespread religious repression” in the Eastern African nation of Eritrea where they claim at least 1,700 Christians are detained for their faith.
Christian Workers Attacked in Two States in India
Hindu extremists broke into a Youth With a Mission (YWAM) training center on March 17 in Madhya Pradesh state, beating students and significantly damaging furniture and equipment. YWAM director Mukesh Jacob and his wife have since been charged with illegal conversion under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act.
Afghanistan Muslims Protest Against Release Christian
Led by angry Muslim clerics, hundreds of people on Monday, March 27, protested in a northern Afghan city against a decision to free an Afghan man who faced a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity.
Indonesia: Church Forced to Close by Mob; New Law Could Threaten Church Plants
Voice of the Martyrs contacts in Indonesia report that on March 26, hundreds of radical Muslims converged on the Church of Pentecost in Indonesia (PTDI) in Gunung Putri, Bogor County, West Java during a Sunday morning service. The mob’s angry protest over the property being “misused” as a church building lasted five hours. Some of the women among the 190 congregants began crying hysterically as a result of the mob’s hostile demonstration, with some falling unconscious and collapsing to the ground.
Indonesia Lawyers Appeal Death Sentences for Christians
Lawyers for three Christian men facing possible execution in Indonesia are planning to seek a presidential pardon and a Supreme Court review of the case because they have new evidence, news reports said Tuesday, March 28.
India Churches Condemn Anti-Conversion Law And Attack Against Missionaries
Indian Church officials on Tuesday, March 28, condemned the adoption of anti-conversion legislation in a key state, after members of a US-backed mission group were attacked by Hindu militants for allegedly “illegally” converting people to Christianity.
Belarus Imprisons Prominent Activist for “Illegal Religious Activity”
Sergey Shavtsov, a lawyer and prominent human rights activist, was arrested, tried and sentenced to 10 days imprisonment in Belarus for organizing an “illegal religious activity,” a UK-based religious rights group said Monday, March 27.
Afghanistan To Release Christian Threatened With Execution
Amid mounting international pressure, a court in Afghanistan on Sunday, March 26, dropped its case against a jailed Afghan man, Abdul Rahman, who has been threatened with execution because he converted from Islam to Christianity, and his release was expected shortly.
Mob Forces Church to Close in West Java, Indonesia
A mob of some 200 Muslim vigilantes forced Christians in Bogor, West Java, to abandon their church service on Sunday, The Jakarta Post reported today.