Lao Christian Leaders Arrested
Lao Christians are paying dearly for their faith as authorities continue to crack down on the Christian movement. Lao authorities closed four churches recently and arrested several of their leaders.
Christian Persecution – Asia
Philippine Bombings Prompt Prayers
Philippine missionaries are requesting prayer in the light of recent bombings.
Five more believers in Nepal were jailed briefly and released
As reported in the March 12 issue of Missions Insider three Christian workers were arrested in western Nepal in late February on suspicion of engaging in illegal religious activity simply because Bibles and Christian literature were found in their bags. Now Christian Aid has learned that five more Christians who went to visit the jailed brothers were similarly arrested.
Christians Killed, Church Bombed in Philippines
Christian bus-passengers were singled out and killed by Islamic rebels in the southern Philippines, near Cotabato city, on Tuesday 18th March. Muslim rebels also planted a bomb near a cathedral in the city.
Pakistani Brothers Acquited of Blasphemy Charges
A Pakistani appeals court confirmed today the acquittal of two Christian brothers jailed nearly four years ago on charges of blasphemy. The two men had both been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a lower sessions court in May 2000.
Nepal: Three Believers Wrongly Jailed
A gospel worker and two local believers were arrested and jailed on proselytism charges in western Nepal last month. Details of the arrest were made known to Christian Aid just this week.
Philippines: Mindanao Suffers Continued Terrorist Attacks
Terrorists apparently have stepped up their attacks on Mindanao Island in southern Philippines.
Fourteen Killed in Attack on Christian Village in the Philippines
Fourteen Christians, including three children, have been brutally killed in an attack on a Christian village in the southern Philippines by Islamic separatists.
Americans Freed in Afghanistan Ask Prayer For Philippine Hostages
WACO, Texas (Compass) — Imprisoned Christian aid workers Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry were freed from Afghanistan’s Taliban as the country fell, city by city, to opposition forces. But a homecoming worship service showed they haven’t forgotten believers still in captivity.
India’s Christian Leaders Brace for Anti-Caste Rally
NEW DELHI, October 26 (Compass) — Christian leaders planning to attend a large anti-caste system “conversion” rally in New Delhi on November 4 are bracing for a Hindu extremist backlash.
Turkmenistan Atakov Freed from Prison, but Pressure Continues
Turkmenistan’s most prominent religious prisoner, the Baptist Shageldy Atakov, has been freed before the end of his four-year sentence, Keston News Service has learnt. The US-based Russian Evangelistic Ministries and the German-based Friedensstimme Mission, which maintain close ties with Baptists in the former Soviet republics, have both confirmed that Atakov was released from prison in the Caspian port city of Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) early on 8 January and has now been reunited with his wife Artygul and five children in the town of Kaakhka close to Turkmenistan’s southern border with Iran. “Jesus has given me a Christmas gift,” Atakov was quoted as saying (many Christians in the region celebrate Christmas on 7 January).
Azerbaijan Baptist Pastor Vows to Fight Court Liquidation
Sary Mirzoyev, pastor of the Love Baptist Church in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, has told Keston News Service that he will fight attempts next week to liquidate his church as a legal entity. The hearing in the liquidation suit, brought by Rafik Aliev, chairman of the State Committee for Relations with Religious Organisations, begins on 23 January at the court of Baku’s Narimanov district. Aliev is alleging that Pastor Mirzoyev preached against Islam and that therefore the church has violated the country’s religion law and should be liquidated. “They have alleged that we are arousing religious hatred,” Pastor Mirzoyev told Keston from Baku on 18 January. “I said nothing against Islam or against Muslims.”
Azerbaijan: Baptist Liquidation Hearing Postponed
The hearing in the case to liquidate the Love Baptist Church in the Azerbaijani capital Baku was postponed yesterday (23 January), the church’s pastor Sary Mirzoyev told Keston News Service from Baku. The Narimanov district court had been due to hear the suit, brought by Rafik Aliev, chairman of the State Committee for Relations with Religious Organisations, in the afternoon of 23 January (see KNS 18 January 2002) but the court agreed to the defendant’s request to postpone the hearing because of ill health. Yahya Mamedov, the church’s deacon and administrator, suffers from diabetes. No date has yet been set for a new hearing, but it is likely to be in about ten days’ time.
Azerbaijan: Two-Week Prison For Pentecostal Leaders
Amid growing pressure on Protestant congregations, two leaders of the unregistered Pentecostal church Living Stones have been arrested and given fifteen-day prison terms, Protestant sources in the Azerbaijani capital Baku have told Keston News Service. The two – Yusuf Farkhadov and Kasym Kasymov – were detained in Sumgait, a town close to Baku, when police and National Security Ministry officers raided a prayer meeting last Friday (18 January) held in a private flat in the town’s 9th micro-district. The two were given the two-week prison term under Article 310 of the Administrative Code, which punishes “petty hooliganism”. “All they were doing was praying,” one church member told Keston. They are serving their term in police detention cells in Sumgait.
Largest Public Outreach by Christians in Afghanistan
LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) — “Advent in Afghanistan†may have been the largest public outreach by Christians to students in the history of Afghanistan. It began when Norm and Cher Nelson, from the radio ministry, Compassion Radio, accepted an invitation to take the experience of Christmas to 30,000 school children in 49 schools in an historic region of Afghanistan during late November and early December 2002.
North Korea Remains Atop Persecution ‘World Watch List’
The isolated communist nation of North Korea remains atop the Open Doors “World Watch List” of countries where Christians are persecuted. The annual list ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith.
Six Missionaries in India Beaten for Sharing Christ
In Orissa, India, where missionary Staines and his two sons were martyred, Gospel workers continue to face persecution.
Lao Christians Praised and Persecuted
In a country where Christians are roundly despised and persecuted, Lao officials recently awarded certificates of recognition to two church groups for competing in local athletic events.
Philippine Missionary Murdered
A Philippine missionary working among minority groups on Mindanao Island was shot and murdered on January 17.
Hmong Christians suffer chemical attacks in Vietnam
The Voice of the Martyrs has learned that Vietnamese police, anxious to stop the spread of Christianity in their nation, have resorted to spraying worshippers with an unidentified chemical agent. Underground church services were raided and believers sprayed in two separate attacks last month. Victims of the attacks report that the chemical gas causes seizures and uncontrollable shaking.