Christian Persecution – Asia

He quietly says he still believes in Jesus Christ. But he can no longer admit it publicly. Since 42-year old Phouthone Chansombat became the chief of Tao Tan, a village 135 kilometers (about 85 miles) from Laos’ capital Vientiane, he had to renounce his faith in Christ. “I can no longer be a Christian,” Chansombat says, fighting back tears.

Two Christians in Madhya Pradesh, India, await their first appearance in court after Hindu villagers accused them of attempted forced conversion.

The Indian government has proposed a law to more closely regulate foreign donations for “anti-national activities.” Christian leaders in India fear the new law would be misused to reduce foreign donations to churches in India.

Hostile spectators filled a courtroom in West Java, Indonesia on July 28 as the fifth hearing in a controversial trial against three Christian women began. The women were accused of attempting to convert Muslim children through a Christian education program.

The High Court of Orissa state has asked local officials to examine complaints of “forced conversions” and ordered strict enforcement of the state anti-conversion law.

Flooding caused by India’s heaviest rain ever recorded has killed hundreds of people in the slums of the country’s commercial capital Mumbai and also destroyed a dozen churches and a bible college there, missionaries said Friday, July 29.

While believers met for prayer in the District 2 Mennonite center Sunday evening — just five days after authorities demolished half of the building — officials forced their way in to disband the meeting.

On Tuesday morning, July 19, about 200 officials cordoned off the Vietnam Mennonite Church center in this city’s District 2 and sent in a large work force that tore down the rear 8.8 meters of the 4.5 meter-wide building — including the home of Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and his family.

Sri Lanka’s government is allowing Christian native missionaries to save children who narrowly survived the recent Tsunami disaster, following news that some are being abducted into forced labor or child prostitution by people posing as aid workers, BosNewsLife established Monday, July 18.

Christians in Pakistan faced a new period of uncertainty Monday, July 18, amid news of increased violence against believers and the adoption of what human rights groups call “a move towards a Taliban-style government” in a key region.

Anti-conversion laws are once again on the agenda in Sri Lanka after a fall-out in parliament that left President Chandrika Kumaratunga desperately in need of Buddhist support.

Sources have told The Voice of the Martyrs that at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28, Christian homes in three areas near Peshawar, Pakistan were attacked by a radical Muslim mob.

Three Vietnamese house church leaders submitted written testimony to the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., on Monday, June 20, the first working day of Vietnam Prime Minister Phan Van Khai’s historic visit to the United States.

Christian workers in India’s tense state of Orissa faced an uncertain future Wednesday, June 22, after the Orissa High Court ordered the local government to ensure the prosecution of missionaries involved in forced conversions of Hindus to Christianity.

An Indonesian ministry says one of its workers escaped after being kidnapped in Aceh, and reports finding Tentena bombing victims in horrific condition.

Three American missionaries who were reportedly beaten by “Hindu fundamentalists” in Mumbai for preaching the Gospel there, will be deported by India because they “violated” the terms of their tourist visa’s, police said Tuesday, June 14.