Turkish Court Opens New Case Against Pastor
A criminal court in southeast Turkey has for the second time pressed charges against a Turkish Protestant pastor in Diyarbakir, this time accusing him of “opening an illegal church.”
Christian Persecution
Christian Arrested, Tortured in Saudi Arabia
The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org, has released information that on Thursday, March 25th, 2004, Mr. Brian O’Connor, a Christian ex-pat Indian national, was arrested by the Muttawa (religious police) on the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Pakistani pastor shot and killed
The pastor of a small church in Pakistan was shot and killed last Friday in the village of Manawala, near Lahore, Pakistan.
Tortured Chinese House Church Leaders Testify for First Time at U.N.
Persecuted Chinese House Church leaders, including tortured and sexually abused women, have for the first time testified at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights amid claims that the Beijing government is increasing pressure on unregistered churches and active believers, ASSIST News Service (ANS) learned Monday April 5.
Eight Pastors Killed in Central Nigeria
Religious violence that erupted in the central Nigerian state of Plateau a few weeks ago has spilled into more towns and villages in that state and beyond, resulting in the deaths of eight pastors and 1,500 Christian believers, and the destruction of 173 churches.
Debate Intensifies over Fate of Acteal Prisoners in Mexico
Sectors of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in Mexico are engaged in a tug-of-war over the fate of 74 Tzotzil peasant farmers imprisoned for perpetrating the “Acteal massacre” in December 1997. Among them are 34 evangelical Christians from Presbyterian, Assemblies of God and Pentecostal churches in Chiapas.
Chinese House Church Christians on Trial as Pastor Flees
Human rights watchdog The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) urged Christians Saturday, March 13, to pray for three representatives of China?s rapidly growing house church movement who it said were due to appear in a Chinese court on charges of “providing intelligence to overseas organizations.”
Christian Children Forced to Become Novice Buddhist Monks by Burmese Regime
Children from Christian families in Burma between the ages of five and ten have been lured from their homes and placed in Buddhist monasteries. Once taken in, their heads have been shaved and they have been trained as novice monks, never to see their parents again.
Christian Arrested, Tortured in Saudi Arabia
The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org, has just become aware that on Thursday, March 25th, 2004, Mr. Brian O’Connor, a Christian ex-pat Indian national, was arrested by the Muttawa (religious police) on the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ICC is being told from a highly reputable source that the Muttawa abducted, imprisoned, and tortured him in a Mosque. Mr. O’Connor is presently being held at the Olaya police station in Riyadh.
Despite shortages and restrictions, Christianity continues to thrive in Cuba
For over a decade, Cuba has endured shocking shortages of everything from food and clothing to jobs and transportation. Cubans do not lack a sense of humor, however, and can still joke about their poverty.
Fourth American dead after northern Iraq drive-by shooting
A fourth American has been confirmed dead after a March 15 attack on five humanitarian workers in northern Iraq.
Uganda: Two American Missionaries and Ugandan Student Killed
An American missionary couple and a Ugandan student have been killed in an attack on a Christian agricultural training center in Northwestern Uganda. According to police reports seven armed and uniformed men entered the premises of the school near Yumbe during the night of March 19.
Three Americans killed, two wounded in northern Iraq drive-by shooting
Three Americans researching needs for humanitarian projects in northern Iraq were killed and two were wounded in a drive-by shooting March 15 in Mosul. The workers were in the area under the auspices of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.
Turkmenistan’s Persecuted Christians Reluctant about New Decree
Persecuted Christians in Turkmenistan began an uncertain week Monday, March 15, after autocratic President Saparmurat Niyazov announced he would allow all religious communities “to gain official registration” regardless of how many members they have.
Chinese Christians to appear in court
Three Christians will appear in a Chinese court on Monday, facing charges of “providing intelligence to overseas organizations.”
Security Police Interfere in Worship Celebration in Vietnam
On the afternoon of March 4, public security police units surrounded the Quoc Thanh Theater at 271 Nguyen Trai Street in central Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, in an attempt to stop a joint worship celebration organized by evangelical Christian house churches, organizers reported.
Nigerian Court Sentences Three Masqueraders to Death
On February 28, a Nigerian court sentenced three men to death for killing a Christian pastor and attacking worshippers at his the church seven years ago.
Christians Axed to Death in Church Meeting by Muslim Warriors
A recent upsurge in violence in southern Plateau State in Nigeria has claimed at least 100 lives and in the worst single incident so far, at least 48 people were murdered, many during an early morning prayer service on February 24.
Huichol Christians Ordered to Leave Mexican Town
Eighteen families of the indigenous Huichol tribe in Tenzompa, Jalisco, Mexico, — more than 80 adults and children, in all — are threatened with expulsion from their homes for the “crime” of believing in the Christian gospel.
Angry Mob Destroys Church in Bolivian Andes
An angry mob of Quechua-speaking Indians destroyed the only evangelical church in the remote village of Chucarasi in the Bolivian Andes on February 28 after beating a congregational elder unconscious. Villagers apparently attacked their Christian neighbors because they blamed them for a hail storm that damaged local crops.