Pastor Damanik Released from Indonesian Prision
Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, imprisoned on what many believe were false charges, walked free today (Tuesday, November 9) – almost a year earlier than his original release date.
Christian Persecution – Asia
Indonesian Man Shot in Church
Around 9:30 p.m. on October 21, snipers shot and injured Hans Sanipi, 25, custodian of the Tabernakel Pentecostal Church in Poso, Central Sulawesi. Sanipi was speaking with several other people in front of the church when two men on a motorbike passed and shot randomly into the crowd.
News Sources State Christians Murdered in North Korea
A North Korean army general who become a Christian was, after he had begun to evangelize in his unit, shot dead by another senior army officer in 2003, Protestant sources have told Forum 18 News Service.
Early Release for Indonesian Pastor
On Saturday, September 25, Rev. Damanik — an Indonesian pastor imprisoned under what many believe were false charges — celebrated his 45th birthday.
Indonesia Closes 12 Churches in Bandung
Local authorities recently ordered 12 churches in the sub-district of Rancaekek, Bandung, Indonesia, to close their doors. The order came after Muslim clerics protested that the churches were meeting illegally.
Pakistani Police ‘Stumped’ on Christian Murders
Two years after seven Christians were gunned down at the Karachi headquarters of one of Pakistan’s established Christian welfare agencies, local police investigators have failed to identify a single suspect.
Debate Continues on Sri Lanka Anti-Conversion Law
Buddhist monks from the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party have launched an international campaign to win support for a proposed anti-conversion bill in Sri Lanka. The monks have met with representatives at the United States, United Kingdom, Canadian, Indian, Australian, French and German embassies in Sri Lanka, according to local press reports.
GFA Missionaries Held Hostage to be Killed Within 48 Hours
Anti-Christian elements in Bihar have captured, severely beaten and are threatening to kill Gospel For Asia (GFA) native missionary Pastor Manrathan and his wife. GFA Bible woman Sarita is also being held hostage.
Indian Missionaries Released by Hostage Takers
Gospel for Asia (GFA) said late Friday, September, 10, that three of its native missionaries who were captured and threatened with death in India’s north-eastern state of Bihar have been released by anti-Christian militants “in a miraculous turn of events.”
Vietnamese Government Forces Christians to Leave their Tribal Village
The Washington, DC, based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org, has received new information concerning the expulsion of 96 Christian families totaling about 600 people from their village in Lao Cai Province to Binh Thuan Province about 800 miles to the south.
Five Afghan Christians Martyred
Five Afghan men who had converted to Christianity have been killed in separate incidents since late June near the borders of eastern Afghanistan.
Nepali Missionary Released
We just received exciting news that GFA native missionary Besh has been freed from the Maoist group that abducted him in mid-August. Another missionary had been sent to search for him, but in the meantime Besh was safely returned, physically unharmed. This is nothing short of a miracle when we consider that Maoists in this district typically kill those they abduct.
Second Pakistani Christian Tortured to Death by Police in Four Months
Another Christian has died in Pakistan as a result of severe torture at the hands of the police. This is the third murder of a Pakistani Christian this year, and the second carried out by the police.
Vietnamese Pastor Arrested, Questioned
Eight days after his arrest, prominent Vietnamese house church leader Rev. Tran Mai walked back into his house in Ho Chi Minh City at 11 p.m. on September 6. However, he arrived home with orders to appear for further interrogation just nine hours later at the city headquarters of the Ministry of Public Security.
Nepali Missionary Still Missing
As of Wednesday, August 25, GFA (Gospel For Asia) native missionary Besh is still being held by Maoist insurgents after being abducted about 12 days ago.
Pakistani Christian dies after attack by policeman
Samuel Masih, a Pakistani Christian who had been accused of blasphemy under Pakistan’s strict Law 295, died tonight around 9 p.m. local time in the Lahore hospital where he was a patient.
Vietnam’s Atrocities Against Montagnards Confirmed
In spite of monumental efforts by Vietnam to minimize and cover up their brutal repression of demonstration attempts by the Montagnard ethnic minority this past Easter, consistent information is emerging that confirms atrocities.
Pakistani Pastor Escapes Islamist Captors
A Protestant pastor kidnapped last Sunday morning escaped from his Islamist abductors overnight Monday, some 40 hours after he had disappeared on his way to church services in Quetta, capital of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.
Six Villagers Arrested for Tonsuring Christians in Orissa, India
Six people were arrested on May 3 in connection with a February 10 incident regarding residents of a village in Orissa state, India, shaving the heads of a local pastor and eight Christian women in an effort to publicly mark them as Hindu converts.
Vietnam’s Montagnards Face the Propaganda War
During the Easter weekend of April 10 and 11, and on some days afterward, Montagnards in Vietnam’s Central Highlands attempted to stage demonstrations to call attention to the harsh injustices they suffer at the hands of communist authorities and ethnic Vietnamese settlers.