India: Dubious ‘Reconversion’ Movement Expands
Hindu extremists have extended to the northern state of Himachal Pradesh a movement to bring Christian converts back to the Hindu fold through dubious “reconversion†events.
Christian
Salem Voice Ministries Missionary Attacked in Kashmir
A Salem Voice Ministries missionary in Jammu and Kashmir was attacked on March 6 in Kupwara in Jammua and Kashmir, India.
Vietnam Pastor And Wife “Brutally Beaten” As Part Of Crackdown
A prominent Mennonite pastor and his wife were recovering Sunday, March 11, from “brutal” beatings by Vietnamese security forces as part of a government crackdown on dissidents, a key activist told BosNewsLife.
Uzbekistan Sentences Prominent Protestant Pastor Shestakov To Four Years In Exile
Prominent Protestant pastor Dmitry Shestakov was sentenced Friday, March 9, to four years’ exile within Uzbekistan for his evangelistic activities, Christian rights watchers observing the trial said.
Vietnam Launches “Worst Crackdown” In Dissidents “In 20 Years”
A major human rights watchdog accused the Vietnamese government on Friday, March 9 of “flouting” its commitments on human rights by launching “one of the worst crackdowns on peaceful dissidents,” including Christians, “in 20 years.”
Thirty-three Chinese and Three Korean Pastors Released in Henan Province
After intensive international pressure, local police released 33 arrested house church leaders and three leaders from South Korea.
Nigeria: Muslim Students Set Fire to High School Chapel
Muslim students twice have set fire to a high school chapel here since it was rebuilt last August, after Islamists burned it down three years ago.
China Detains Dozens Of Christian Leaders, Group Says
Dozens of Christian leaders, including three church officials from South Korea, were detained by Chinese security forces Tuesday, March 6, as part of an apparent government crackdown on independent Christian groups, representatives said.
Iranian Imam Receives Christ Via Satellite TV, Escapes Country
One of the top Islamic leaders in Iran accepted Christ and left the country after facing death threats and imprisonment, according to an Iranian pastor living in the U.S.
Vietnam Detains House Church Leader
There was mounting concern Monday, March 5, about the whereabouts of a key leader of an indigenous house church in Vietnam’s Central Highlands after Vietnamese security forces reportedly raided a village and detained several Christians.
Benin Islamic Militants Destroy Church And Training Center
Islamic militants in Benin destroyed a church established by Christ Power Ministries (CPM) in the latest attack against the indigenous evangelical mission group in the African nation, missionaries told BosNewsLife Friday, March 2.
Iraq: Kurdish Christian Child Convicted of Murder
A Christian child has been sentenced to five years in juvenile detention in Northern Iraq for fatally stabbing her Muslim uncle while he beat her for converting to Christianity, her lawyer said.
Uzbekistan: Police Seek Missing Pastors of ‘Unregistered’ Churches
Salavat Serikbayev, 32, and Makset Djabbarbergenov, 26, did not make their court date on Monday (February 26) in the regional capital of Nukus to face charges of leading an unregistered religious meeting. The pastors declined to make public the reason for their absence from court.
Cuba Christian Activist Biscet “Trusts God” Amid Prison Abuses
One of Cuba’s most prominent Christian prisoners, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, has said he has been forced to watch abuses “that threaten the decorous behavior of a civilized society” but stressed he trusts God to one day end his “unjust sentence,” in a letter published by BosNewsLife Saturday, March 3.
China Gives Activist’s Mother Two Years Imprisonment
The elderly mother of a well known Chinese church activists remained behind bars Thursday, March 1, after a Chinese court sentenced her to two years imprisonment, representatives confirmed.
India Militants Massively Attack Bible College; Christians Injured
“Many Christians” were injured when hundreds of suspected Hindu militants on Wednesday, February 28, raided a Christian college in the Indian state of Orissa and beat staff members and students, investigators told BosNewsLife.
Fire Damages Christian Training Center in Southern Sudan
A significant section of a Christian training center in volatile southern Sudan has been destroyed by fire, the group that runs the center confirmed Wednesday, February 28.
India: ‘Anti-Conversion’ Laws Linked to Higher Persecution
With the governor of Himachal Pradesh approving an “anti-conversion†bill last week, India now has seven states with legislation banning unregistered or unethical religious conversions — to the glee of Hindu extremists who arbitrarily invoke them to quash Christian growth.
India: Young Pastor Found Dead in Andhra Pradesh
The body of a 29-year-old pastor was found with stab wounds on February 20 in a canal in Krishna district of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Jailed Mexican Evangelicals Fear New Massacre Trial
There was concern Wednesday, February 21, about the plight of dozens of evangelical prisoners in Mexico’s southeastern state of Chiapas who rights watchers say have been wrongly convicted of involvement in the massacre of 45 Tzotzil Indians nearly a decade ago.