Christian Persecution – Asia

Sri Lanka’s Parliament has appointed a 19-member committee to review a bill that would outlaw “forcible” conversion, before it is presented for a final vote.

Family members and human rights activists urged the international community Saturday, April 22, to pressure North Korea not to execute a Christian man who has been accused of “betrayal” and “espionage” by the Communist government.

Evangelical missionaries in East Timor warned Monday, April 24, of new bloodshed after troops dismissed from the armed forces threatened to wage a new guerrilla war in the troubled Southeast Asian nation.

Police backed by Hindu extremists arrested Avinash Lal, an independent Pentecostal pastor from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh state, and six other Christian leaders last night (April 18) on charges on ‘fraudulent conversion.’

India’s Supreme Court confirmed Monday, April 17, it granted the founder of a major evangelical mission organization “relief from an outstanding arrest warrant” for alleged anti-Hindu activities and ordered a hearing before a court in the tense state of Rajasthan Friday, April 21, officials said.

Samuel Thomas, the leader of one of India’s main evangelical mission organizations, remained jailed Thursday, April 13, on charges of anti-Hindu activities, after a court denied him bail, but his wife told BosNewsLife she is not giving up hope, yet.

An anti-conversion bill passed by the Rajasthan state assembly last Friday (April 7) is unconstitutional and could lead to an “explosive situation” in the state, Christians say.

A local Christian leader in rural Laos who refuses to abandon his faith in Christ has been detained and shackled in hand and foot stocks as part of a fresh crackdown by Communist authorities on Christian villagers, missionaries said Thursday, April 13.

Extremists attacked two Christian schools and a private Christian gathering last week in Madhya Pradesh state and accused several Christians of carrying out “illegal conversions.”

Hindu leaders attending a centenary celebration of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) last weekend converted at least 344 tribal Christians to Hinduism. Although police were present, they took no action to enforce Orissa state anti-conversion laws that require official permission for such events.

Christian villagers in a remote area of Bangladesh tried to rebuild their lives Tuesday, April 11, after an angry mob reportedly burned down their church to protest against their decision to abandon Buddhism and convert to Christianity.

Voice of the Martyrs’ contacts in Pakistan reported on April 8th that Pakistani Christian, Parvez Masih, who was arrested and jailed under false blasphemy charges five years ago in April 2001, was released. After years of inhumane treatment, threats, beatings and trials, the headmaster of a private Christian middle school was found not guilty of violating Law 295C (blaspheming the prophet Mohammed).

Pastor Paul Ciniraj Mohammed, a Christian convert from Islam, is still recovering from what he believes was a murder attempt in Kottayam district, in the southern state of Kerala, on March 16.

Nepali evangelist Kumar was making plans to travel from his village to the capital city of Kathmandu for a worship conference in early March, when three Mao insurgents paid him a visit. They approached Kumar, and demanded a 5000 rupee “donation,” (about seventy US dollars) to support their cause. When Kumar couldn’t pay, they kidnapped him.

Documents and information released for first time today by Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom show that, despite its claims of liberalization, the Government of Vietnam is continuing its repression of Hmong Christians in the northwest provinces of Vietnam.

The Supreme Court last Tuesday (March 28) quietly ruled that conversion of tribal people to Christianity could disqualify them from running for some elective offices if the posts involve religious functions.

Less than a year after believers in Vietnam’s central Quang Ngai province saw some of their dwellings destroyed, a mob burned down five homes of other Hre minority Christians in the legally-recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South).

Religious rights investigators warned Thursday, March 30, that thousands of people in Afghanistan could face execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, a day after Italy granted asylum to a Christian convert.

In a move expected to raise international concerns, the leader of one of India’s largest evangelical mission groups was Wednesday, March 29, in a Kota Central Jail of the state of Rajasthan, which has been shaken by religious strife, officials said.

Hindu extremists broke into a Youth With a Mission (YWAM) training center on March 17 in Madhya Pradesh state, beating students and significantly damaging furniture and equipment. YWAM director Mukesh Jacob and his wife have since been charged with illegal conversion under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act.