Iranian Christians Face Death Penalty In Iran
Two Iranian Christians from Muslim backgrounds may receive the death penalty on charges of apostasy, according to prosecution documents published Tuesday, September 9.
European Union
Vietnam “Kills” Christians In Central Highlands
Vietnamese security forces reportedly murdered two Degar Montagnard Christian men in the Central Highlands after they returned from a protest against the detention of fellow believers, BosNewsLife monitored Monday, August 4.
Turkish Pastor Facing Jail On “False” Charges
An evangelical pastor in Turkey faced a possible jail term Wednesday, June 18, just days after a prosecutor began investigating him on charges that included to blasphemy against Islam, Christian rights investigators said.
Turkey Releases Teenager Planning “Massacre” In Church
A Turkish teenager who vowed to kill the pastor of a Protestant church and "massacre" Christians in the Black Sea coastal city of Samsun has been released by a local court because he is "to young" Turkish media reported Tuesday, January 8.
Persecution of Degar Montagnards Continues
A major advocacy group says that hundreds of Degar prisoners remain in prison for standing up for human rights, for spreading Christianity or for fleeing to Cambodia. Many have died from internal injuries caused by beatings. Indigenous rights are routinely violated, and racism and discrimination are serious problems in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
German Evangelicals Protest Planned Deportation of Vietnamese Christian
For over 200 days an evangelical congregation in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has been providing “church asylum” to a Vietnamese Christian amid fears he may be deported by local German authorities, news reports said Sunday, September 3.
Indonesia Postpones Execution Christians
Amid international pressure, Indonesia postponed on Saturday, August 12, the execution of three Christians found guilty in 2001 of violence against Muslims in the province of Central Sulawesi, apparently minutes before they were to be shot by a firing squad.
Secret Documents Reveal Ethnic Cleansing of Christians in Iraq, Leader says
Secret documents show Saddam Hussein’s regime and local Kurdish leaders were involved in the “ethnic cleansing”, “gassing” and “Islamization” of Assyrian Christians in Northern Iraq, with international religious aid organizations refusing to intervene, an Assyrian official claimed Wednesday, August 4.
More Christians Arrested in Wake of ‘Apostasy’
An avalanche of media coverage of an Afghan man facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity has apparently sparked the arrest and deepening harassment of other Afghan Christians in the ultra-conservative Muslim country.
Cuba Churches Warn Of Government Mob Attacks Against Activists
Church leaders trying to represent the exiled Cuban community in the United States have urged Cubans not to participate in ‘government-organized mobs’ which they claim increasingly harass human rights activists, including Christians, in Cuba.
Peru Releases “Unjustly Jailed” Evangelical After 13 Years
Peruvian evangelical Christian Walter Wilmer Cubas Baltasar was spending another day in freedom Monday, February 13, after serving 13 years in prison for terrorist crimes he did not commit, human rights groups confirmed.
Palestinian Militants Threaten Churches and Close EU Office Over Cartoons
Armed Islamic groups angered by cartoon drawings depicting the Prophet Muhammad in European media, threatened to attack churches and closed down the European Union Commission office in Gaza Thursday, February 2, as anger over the published caricatures spread across the Muslim world.
Pentecostal Church Fears Renewed Persecution in Romania
A Pentecostal church in Romania which seeks a spiritual “revival” in the post-Communist nation urged the European Parliament Thursday, October 6, to halt plans by the Romanian government to restrict activities of religious minorities.
Turkey’s Mistreatment of Christians Becoming More Brazen
Bektas Erdogan never expected his Christian faith of 11 years to jeopardize his career as a fashion designer in Turkey.
Jailed Iranian Christian Pressured to Return to Islam
Eleven months after Iranian police arrested Hamid Pourmand for converting to Christianity, authorities at Tehran’s Evin Prison continue to pressure the former Muslim to return to Islam.
Iran Christian Colonel Jailed With Known Dissidents, report says
An Iranian Colonel who, despite Western protests, was jailed last month for his alleged “illegal” conversion to Christianity is held at Tehran’s notorious maximum-security prison with well-known political and religious dissidents, a Christian news agency reported late Friday, March 11.
Religious Minorities in Kosovo Fear Their Freedom Will Be Seriously Hindered by Draft Law
Religious minorities and the Kosovo office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are seriously concerned by a draft religion law being discussed by Kosovo’s government.
Turkish Pastor Acquitted of Criminal Charges
In what the mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper called a “jet acquittal,” a criminal court in southeastern Turkey dropped all charges yesterday against a Protestant pastor accused of opening an “illegal” church.
Afghan Trial Resumes Against Christian Workers; Family Urges Bush to Postpone Military Action
KABUL/ISLAMABAD (ANS) — The trial of eight Western aid workers accused of spreading Christianity in mainly Moslim Afghanistan resumed in the Afghan Capital Kabul Sunday, September 30, as family members pleaded to United States President George W. Bush to postpone retaliatory action against the country.
Turkish Churches Face Twin Hurdles
Two major hurdles face evangelical churches in Turkey: lack of trained leadership and suitable buildings. A Turkish church planter says conditions are now right to do something about both.