A Christian man in Pakistan was tortured by police into confessing to a false allegation of blasphemy, and then illegally held in custody for two months before being presented to a judge, Morning Star News reports. Salamat Mansha Masih was arrested, tortured, and detained in Lahore after Muslims heard him reading the Bible in a park on February 13.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published its 2021 Annual Report earlier this month, redesignating 10 nations as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) and recommending to the State Department that India, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam now be given that designation as well.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has published a report showing that around 5.2 billion people live in countries where religious freedom is severely violated and restricted, International Christian Concern reports. These countries include China, India, and Pakistan, which have the world’s largest populations.
Two Christian nurses in Pakistan have been jailed for violating blasphemy laws by following a hospital supervisor’s instructions to clean up an area covered with old hangings and stickers, including a half-torn old sticker with a verse from the Koran on it, International Christian Concern reports. Rights groups have said Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws are frequently abused; Pakistan ranks 5th on the Open Doors Watch List of countries where Christians are persecuted.
Algerian Christian Slimane Bouhafs has struggled with suicidal thoughts after being imprisoned for violating Algeria’s blasphemy laws and then being further persecuted for his faith upon seeking refuge in Tunisia, Morning Star News reports. Algeria ranked 24th and Tunisia ranked 26th on the Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
Religious minorities in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco suffer persecution through the application of “harsh and disproportionate” laws, International Christian Concern reports.
Rights activists fear that Pakistani law enforcement authorities will make the death penalty the only punishment for blasphemy against Islam.
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.
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.
A young Christian man sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in Pakistan for “blasphemy” against Islam has been released on bail, Christians confirmed Thursday.
Algerian Christians have urged prayers for a pastor and his assistant who were jailed and fined for evangelizing in Algeria, an Islamic nation, Worthy News learned.
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.
Two Christians could face execution in Pakistan after being summoned by police for evangelizing among Muslims, Christians confirmed.
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.
Egyptian laws brought in since the 2011 revolution have resulted in significant restrictions on religious and other freedoms for Christians in the country, International Christian Concern reported Saturday.
Two Christian evangelists in Pakistan have been charged with blasphemy – and could face a mandatory death penalty if convicted, International Christian Concern reports. Haroon Ayub Masih and Salamat Mansha Masih were arrested on February 13 for allegedly insulting Islam while preaching the Gospel in Model Town Park in Lahore.
A Christian nurse in Pakistan was charged with blasphemy Friday, after an Islamist mob demanded police rescind their original decision to dismiss an allegation against her, Morning Star News reports. Accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan can result in lengthy jail sentences, and can also trigger mob lynchings and vigilante murders.
A Christian lay leader in Pakistan was taken into police custody last month as hundreds of Muslims descended on his Lahore neighborhood threatening to kill him for sharing a post against Islam on his Facebook page, Morning Star News reports. The outraged mob also threatened to burn down homes in Raja Warris’ neighborhood in the Charar area of Lahore, causing Pakistani Christians in the community to flee for their lives.
A Christian girl who is suffering from the coronavirus is in hiding after a court annulled her marriage with her Muslim kidnapper, trial observers told Worthy News.
A young Christian faces a lengthy prison term in Egypt for blasphemy after he was released on bail, Christians say.