An evangelical Christian pastor in India’s Uttar Pradesh state has been in jail for three months awaiting trial on trumped-up charges of violating local anti-religious conversion legislation and other laws, Morning Star News reports.
In a move welcomed by Christian human rights advocates, India’s Supreme Court has ordered the Hindu nationalist government to investigate and establish the facts on the reported cases of Christians being attacked over 500 times last year, Christian Today (CT) reports.
Six Christian women in India’s Uttar Pradesh state were charged with forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity and were imprisoned on July 30, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. With the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party in power since 2014, India’s Christians have become increasingly vulnerable to harsh anti-conversion laws which are frequently abused by Hindu extremists looking to harass and imprison believers.
Hindu nationalist police officers in India’s Uttar Pradesh state severely beat up a pastor after arresting him for singing a hymn on the roof of his home during a family devotional in April, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.