Bruce Balfour Found Innocent of Spying for Israel
Bruce Balfour, the 52-year-old Canadian Christian charged with spying for Israel, has been found innocent by a Lebanese military court.
Christian Persecution
Justice Denied? U.S. Citizen Expected to Serve Five Years Imprisonment in Russia
Barring a miracle, an innocent U.S. citizen is going to spend five years in a Russian prison for a crime he did not commit. Andrew Okhotin’s four months under house arrest and upcoming show trial should outrage anyone who believes in justice. It should also move them to do whatever they can to help.
Turkmenistan Baptists Banned from Services
Baptists and other Protestant groups in two of the most oppressive republics of the former Soviet Union faced fines and possible liquidation Monday, September 1, unless they stop church meetings, reports said.
Christians in Nepal Suffer Attacks, Arrests
Christians belonging to a small house church in northern Nepal were attacked by Buddhist and Hindu villagers on July 26, resulting in hospitalization for at least one church member. The mob attacked and destroyed houses and cornfields belonging to Christian villagers.
Muslim Militants Attack Three Christian Villages in Northern Nigeria
Over 100 well-armed Muslim militants swarmed into three Christian villages in northern Nigeria on Monday, August 25. Seven people were reportedly killed, 30 homes burned and 140 families displaced when the attackers invaded the villages about 8 p.m., setting houses ablaze and destroying food items in storage facilities.
Eritrean Commanders Intensify Harsh Measures
Fifty-seven teenage Eritrean Christians jailed last week under severe punishment for having Bibles at their military training camp remain locked in metal shipping containers, inside sources confirmed today.
Twelve Christians in Laos Pressured to Abandon Their Faith While in Prison
A group of 12 Christians in Laos are under extreme pressure to abandon their faith while being held in prison, according to a report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
Gospel for Asia Church in India Under Attack
A Gospel for Asia church of 51 believers in Jharkhand, India, is under attack as anti-Christian leaders meet to decide its fate.
House church leader sentenced to 18 months “re-education through labor”
The Voice of the Martyrs has learned that house church leader Guoxing (Philip) Xu has been sentenced to 18 months of so-called “re-education through labor” after his arrest for leading a house-church service last month.
ACLJ Gets Court Order Upholding Constitutionality of In-Home Prayer for Connecticut Family
(Bridgeport, CT) – The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, said today a federal judge has issued a Preliminary Injunction against the Town of New Milford, Connecticut prohibiting the town from blocking a Connecticut family from continuing to hold prayer meetings inside their private residence.
Civic center’s pagan fresco raises question of ‘ACLU, where are you?’
McMINNVILLE, Ore. (BP)–If a city were to display a manger scene on the courthouse lawn or post the Ten Commandments in the council chambers, the American Civil Liberties Union would threaten a lawsuit. However, let a community depict a pagan goddess in a public arena and the ACLU is strangely silent.
ACLJ Files Religious Discrimination Suit Against Mass. School Dist. In Wake Of Supreme Court Ruling
(Boston, MA) — The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, announced today it has filed a federal lawsuit charging religious discrimination against a school district in Massachusetts that has refused to permit a Christian organization to use its facilities after-hours – just days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such discriminatory action is unconstitutional.
Christian in Lebanon Goes on Trial
The trial of Bruce Balfour, a Canadian missionary seeking to plant cedar trees in Lebanon, began Wednesday in a military tribunal. He is charged with spying for Israel.
Life Sentence for Two Christians in Blasphemy Case Upheld
A High Court has upheld the decision of a lower court to sentence two Pakistani Christians to life imprisonment for allegedly burning a Qur’an.
Bali Bombing Brings Unity to Indonesian Churches
Following last October’s bombing of a Bali nightclub, Christians and churches have made an effort to unite in their response to the tragedy.
Is Haiti Facing a Voodoo-Christian Showdown?
In late April, Haiti’s President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former Catholic priest, declared voodoo an officially recognized religion. The decision means, among other things, that marriage ceremonies conducted by voodoo priests now have equal standing with Catholic ones.
Chinese Officials Continue Campaign Against Underground Christians
The spread of the SARS virus has not distracted Chinese officials from their campaign against unregistered churches. At least 52 key house church leaders have been arrested in recent months. Police also arrested and fined hundreds of “ordinary” Christians in the first four months of 2003.
Christians Jailed for Aiding North Korean Refugees in China
Two South Korean pastors and two laymen, imprisoned in China because of their pastoral and humanitarian work among North Korean refugees, await court decisions on their fate.
Iraq’s Revival: Christians Risk Their Lives for Church
BAGHDAD, IRAQ (ANS) — Iraqi Christians who have become targets of attacks by Muslim extremists and bandits are risking their lives to attend church services, ASSIST News Service (ANS) has established.
Vietnamese Officials Hold Informal Talks with House Church Leaders
HO CHI MINH CITY, March 19 (Compass) — In what may be a small breakthrough for religious liberty, Vietnam’s religion authorities invited five leaders of Protestant house church organizations and non-denominational missions to Hanoi for “informal talks†in early March.