New Tribes Obeys Order to Leave Tribal Venezuela
Complying with President Hugo Chavez’s order to leave Venezuela’s indigenous lands by today, the last two New Tribes Mission (NTM) workers left the area late last week.
Military
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.
Philippines Christians Mourn Believers Killed in Muslim Violence
Christian believers in the Philippines on Sunday, February 5, mourned 6 Christians, including an infant, who were killed by Muslim militants shortly after a missionary couple died in an ambush.
Eritrean Military Jails 75 Protestant Conscripts
Eritrean military authorities jailed 75 Protestant Christians yesterday at the Sawa Military Training Camp for ‘reading Bibles and praying during their free time,’ local sources in the small East Africa nation confirmed.
Eight House Churches Shut Down in West Java, Indonesia
Local government officials in Bandung, West Java, have ordered eight house churches in the Rancaekek Kencana housing complex to cease meeting in private homes starting last Sunday (January 15).
Blind Christian Dissident in Cuba Surrounded By Violent Crowds, Trapped in House
Cuba’s influential blind Christian dissident, Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, was facing another tense night Monday, January 16, after government backed crowds, armed with loudspeakers, reportedly threatened to storm his house and kill everyone inside.
Burma Army Attacks Christian Villages, 1,200 Displaced
Burmese government forces attacked villages of the Karen and Karenni people, displacing 1,200 villagers, as part of a “slow genocide” against these predominantly Christian ethnic groups, a religious rights group said late Thursday, January 5.
Eritrea Rounds Up Leaders from Five Churches
At least 40 pastors, elders and leading laymen from five of Eritrea’s banned Protestant churches have been arrested from their homes or offices in the past two weeks in the capital of Asmara.
Widespread Torture Reported in Burma’s Prisons
A major report has been published this weekend documenting for the first time the extent of the government backed torture in Burma’s jails, human rights investigators said.
Eritrea Detains Hundreds of Christians in Crackdown
Over 200 evangelical Christians and members of minority churches have been detained in Eritrea this week in unprecedented coordinated raids by the African nation’s security forces, BosNewsLife learned Thursday, October 6.
Christians Cry For Help In Famine Stricken Burkina Faso
Christians in the West African nation of Burkina Faso have appealed for help as especially children are “beginning to be affected by diseases linked to malnutrition and deficiency,” a Christian aid group said Monday, October 3.
Anglican Church Leadership “Killed” in Iraq
The entire lay leadership of Iraq’s main Anglican Church was presumed dead Thursday, September 29, amid reports they were attacked while returning from a conference in neighboring Jordan.
Burma Military Closes Down Evangelical Church, Group Says
Burma’s military government has closed down a major evangelical church and movement in the capital Rangoon as part of a fresh crackdown on Christian congregations across the Asian nation, a well informed advocacy group said Wednesday, September 7.
Eritrea Police Raid Christian Wedding Party Detaining Couple and Guests
Police of the troubled African nation of Eritrea have arrested a Christian bridal couple and their 18 wedding guests and churches expressed concern about “widening” religious “persecution” in the country, news reports said Thursday, September 8.
Christian Activists Killed In Philippines
A human rights lawyer was killed and a church pastor died following a previous attack in the Philippines amid concern the military is involved in growing violence against Christian activists, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said Tuesday, September 6.
Prisoners from Eritrean Wedding Roundup Mocked, Beaten
Three months after 250 wedding guests were arrested in the Eritrean capital for attending a Protestant Christian wedding, 129 of them remain jailed under severe conditions.
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.
Eritrea Jails another 31 Christians
Another 31 Eritrean Christians have been jailed by police in towns north of the capital Asmara over the past 10 days. The latest police sweeps brings the total to 187 arrests for “illegal” Christian activities in Eritrea since the beginning of January.
Christian Children Rounded Up in Eritrea, Rights Group says
Eritrea’s controversial President Isaias Afwerki ended a three day official visit to Pakistan Sunday, February 27, pledging to respect “democratic values” amid pressure at home to release hundreds of Christians, including children.