Armenia Condemns Azerbaijan For Demolishing Church
Armenia’s leading cultural authority accuses neighboring Azerbaijan of demolishing an Armenian Church in a disputed area.
Christian Persecution – Asia
Thailand Denies Returning Christians Fleeing Myanmar Bombardments
Thailand has denied forcing back more than 2,000 mainly Christian refugees fleeing deadly airstrikes in neighboring Myanmar despite video footage suggesting many boarding boats under Thai soldiers’ watch.
Christian Refugees Among Those Suffering As Bangladesh Camp Fire Kills 15
Persecuted Christian families “lost everything” when a fire raged through a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar city in southeastern Bangladesh, killing at least 15 people, Christian aid workers said Sunday.
Indonesia Suicide Church Bombing Injures 14 Worshipers
Indonesian President Joko Widodo pledged to break up a terror network Sunday after two suspected suicide bombers attacked a Catholic Church in the city of Makassar, injuring 14 worshipers.
Pakistan Considers Death Penalty As Only Punishment For Blasphemy
Rights activists fear that Pakistani law enforcement authorities will make the death penalty the only punishment for blasphemy against Islam.
India Christian persecution: Tribal animists violently attack Christians at home church meeting
Around 30 tribal animists violently attacked Christians at a home worship service in India’s Chhattisgarh state on March 8, Morning Star News reported Tuesday. India currently ranks 10 on the Open Doors watch list of countries in which Christians are persecuted.
Pakistan: High Court changes life sentence to death penalty for Seventh Day Adventist accused of blasphemy
The High Court in Lahore, Pakistan has changed a life sentence to the death penalty in the case of a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church charged with sending a blasphemous text message in 2011, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Giving its decision on March 10, the High Court ruled in favor of Islamist group Khatam-e-Nabuwwat Forum, which argued that 36-year-old Sajjad Masih should be sentenced to death rather than life imprisonment for his transgression.
Pakistan Sentences Christian To Death For Blasphemy
A Christian young man faces execution by hanging death after a Pakistani court sentenced him to death for allegedly sending blasphemous text messages about Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
India Christian Couple Attacked Over Rituals Refusal
A Christian couple and their three children are reportedly homeless in India’s western Jharkhand state for refusing to abandon their in Christ and accept tribal rituals.
Pakistan Grants Bail To Young Christian Jailed For Blasphemy
A young Christian man sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in Pakistan for “blasphemy” against Islam has been released on bail, Christians confirmed Thursday.
India Christian persecution: Violent mob attacks prayer meeting in private home
A violent mob of around 70 people attacked a prayer meeting in a private home in India’s Chhattisgarh state Monday, destroying property, assaulting those gathered, and hospitalizing at least six believers with serious injuries, CSW reports. Chhattisgarh is one of nine states with controversial anti-conversion laws that are often used to harass and intimidate religious minorities from sharing their faith.
India Persecution: Tribal animist relatives persecute Christian mother of four
Enraged by her new faith in Christ, the tribal animist relatives of a mother of four in central India have banished her from their village and barred her from harvesting the crop she needs to feed her family, Morning Star News reports.
India: Christian leaders criticize repressive anti-conversion law
Christian leaders in India’s Uttar Pradesh state have publicly criticized a new bill that oppressively restricts and regulates conversion from one faith to another, International Christian Concern reports. Passed on February 24 by the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the new bill violates Article 25 of India’s constitution, which provides that citizens have the right to profess, practice, and propagate the religion of their choice.
Pakistan’s Christian Widows and Children Facing Starvation
Hundreds of Pakistani Christian widows and their children rely on monthly food parcels in impoverished Pakistan amid Christian persecution and an ongoing coronavirus pandemic, aid workers told Worthy News Sunday.
India: Christian couple refuse to renounce faith in face of death threats and banishment
A husband and wife who refused to renounce their new-found faith in Christ have been banished and threatened with death if they return to their village home in India’s Odisha state, International Chrisitan Concern (ICC) reports. Jaga Padiami and his wife were driven from their home in the Malkangiri municipality after becoming Christians in December 2020.
Indonesia: Pentecostal congregation allowed to build a church as local official calls for religious tolerance
A Pentecostal church in Yogyakarta, Indonesia has again been granted permission to build a worship center after a previous construction permit (IMB) was revoked by local authorities in 2019, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Renewing permission to build a church, the local regent also called for tolerance of other religions in the community.
Pakistani Christians Face Death Penalty For Blasphemy
Two Christians could face execution in Pakistan after being summoned by police for evangelizing among Muslims, Christians confirmed.
India: Hindu nationalists attack separate church gatherings on same day; pastor arrested
Two Christian congregations in central India were attacked on the same day by around 100 radical Hindu nationalists who stormed each of their worship gatherings on February 7, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. While there are no reports of the attackers being arrested, the pastor of one of the churches attacked was arrested and detained before being released on bail.
Pakistan: Persecution against Christians included murder and forced marriage in second half of 2020
Murder and forced marriage are included in at least 38 documented incidents of persecution against Pakistan’s Christian population in the second half of 2020, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Malaysia: Abducted Pastor now missing for four years: “Please pray for justice”
A pastor who was abducted by Malaysia state police on February 13, 2017, has not been seen or heard of since, Open Doors UK reports. The fourth anniversary of the abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh has just passed and his family still has no answers as to why he was kidnapped or what has happened to him.