Eritrea: Police round up and imprison 103 Christian college students
Eritrean police arrested and detained 103 Christian college students at a worship event in the capital city of Asmara last month, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Christian Persecution
Pakistan Detains Christian Widow For ‘Burning’ Koranic Pages
An illiterate Christian widow has been jailed in Pakistan’s Punjab province for accidentally burning verses of the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims, several Christian sources told Worthy News.
Sudan: Church leaders ask for prayer amid escalating violence and fears of return to Islamic extremist law
Church leaders in Sudan are asking for prayer as the nation reels under yet another bout of deadly violence and instability that Islamic extremists may use to bring about the return of harsh Islamic law in the country, Christian Today reports. Hundreds of diplomats from countries including the US and the UK were evacuated Sunday amid fears the violence will continue and intensify.
Eritrea Forbids Burial Of Evangelical Church Leader In Anti-Christian Campaign (Worthy News In-Depth)
A popular Eritrean Christian leader who died this month is being denied a burial place because of his Evangelical beliefs amid an ongoing government crackdown on devoted Christians in the Muslim-majority Horn of Africa nation, rights investigators said Friday.
Libya: Nine Christians including Libyans, AoG American missionaries, and a Pakistani face possible execution after arrest for apostasy and evangelism
Nine Christians, including six Libyans, two Assemblies of God American missionaries, and a Pakistani have been arrested by Libya’s Internal Security Agency, and face possible execution on charges of apostasy from Islam and preaching Christianity, the Catholic News Agency (CNS) reports.
China: Government plans to bring in new measures requiring churches to include CCP propaganda in services
China’s ruling Communist Party (CCP) is planning to bring in new regulatory measures that would require all churches and other places of worship to implement CCP propaganda as part of their services, the Bitter Winter Chinese human rights magazine reports.
Indonesia: Church allowed to reopen after 13 years of legal proceedings
After 13 years of legal proceedings, a church in Indonesia has finally been granted a permit and allowed to reopen after being shut down by government authorities in 2010, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Nigeria report: 5,068 Christians murdered by Islamic jihadists last year, 52,250 Christians murdered since 2009
A new report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) attests that 5,068 Christians in Nigeria were murdered by Islamic jihadists on account of their faith last year and that 1,041 were murdered in the first 100 days of 2023. Intersociety is “globally known and respected for strongly advocating for the end of religious radicalism through the propagation of radical Islamism and fanatical Christianity in Nigeria.”
Nigeria: Radicalized Fulani herdsmen murder 33 Christians in Kaduna state
In what has been described as “mindless bloodletting,” radicalized Fulani herdsmen murdered 33 Christians in an attack Saturday night through the early hours of Sunday (April 15-16) in Kaduna state, Nigeria, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Uganda: Jihadists set off fuel bomb on Pentecostal church premises
Claiming that this was the way to serve Allah during the month of Ramadan, Islamic jihadists in western Uganda set off a fuel bomb on the premises of a Pentecostal church during a Good Friday service on April 7, Morning Star News (MSN) reported on April 17. Christianity is legal in Uganda, although believers have come under increasing violent attack from radicalized Muslims.
Myanmar: Former head of Kachin Baptist Convention sentenced to six years imprisonment, “outrageous travesty of justice”
A Myanmar/Burma court has sentenced the former President of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Reverend Dr. Hkalam Samson, to six years in prison for speaking out against human rights abuses perpetrated against the Kachin people by the ruling Burmese military junta Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports.
Iran: Christian couple granted a retrial following prison sentence for house church membership
A court in Iran has accepted an application for a retrial by an Iranian Christian couple sentenced to a combined 10 years in prison for being members of a house church, Article 18 reports.
India Supreme Court to hear case by Catholic Archbishop requesting disclosure of records of religious rights abuses
In a case brought by the Catholic Archbishop of Bangalore, India’s Supreme Court will on Friday consider harsh anti-conversion laws passed in numerous Indian states and consider the church leader’s request to compel the disclosure of records of religious violations in those states, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
Burkina Faso: 44 killed in terror attacks, “believers have been targeted and killed in villages”
Amid ongoing murderous campaigns of terror in Burkina Faso, Islamic jihadists slaughtered 44 civilians in the villages of Kourakou and Tondobi villages between April 6-7, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Indonesia Pledges To Facilitate Church After Outcry
Indonesia’s government says it will facilitate a place of worship for Protestant Christians in West Java after the forced closure of their church by authorities provoked an international outcry.
Indonesia: Government authorities continue to shut down churches
Amid an ongoing spate of government-sponsored church closures in Indonesia, the Purwakarta Simalungun Protestant Christian Church (GKPS) was forced to give up worshiping and building a sanctuary in Cigelam Village because the Purwakarta Regency Government in West Java refused to issue the requisite permit and de facto shut the church down, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Persecuted Chinese congregation arrives in the US seeking asylum
An entire congregation of more than 60 asylum-seeking Chinese Christians has arrived in the US after their application for refugee status on the grounds of persecution by China’s government was rejected by both South Korea and Thailand, the Washington Times reports.
Nigeria: Church of Christ in Nations pastor and his two sons among Christians slaughtered in Plateau state
Radicalized Fulani herdsmen and other Islamic militants are continuing their reign of terror in Nigeria, slaughtering a pastor and his two sons, and six other Christians in Plateau state in recent weeks, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
Nigeria: Christians slaughtered in Benue state attacks
More than 60 Christians were murdered in Nigeria’s Benue state in the last month, as the years-long slaughter of Nigerian Christians by radicalized Fulani herdsmen and Islamic jihadists continues unabated and with impunity.
Scotland: Church leaders say proposed conversion therapy ban could criminalize Christians who teach that homosexual behavior is sinful
A group of twenty Scottish church leaders have written to Scotland’s Minister for Equality expressing their alarm that a proposed government ban on “conversion practices” could result in the criminalization of Christians who teach anyone, including their own children, that the practice of homosexuality is sinful, Christian Today reports.