Prisoners from Eritrean Wedding Roundup Mocked, Beaten
Three months after 250 wedding guests were arrested in the Eritrean capital for attending a Protestant Christian wedding, 129 of them remain jailed under severe conditions.
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Vietnamese Authorities Offer Pastor Freedom for Confession
The Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang was working at a labor camp machine used to extract cashew nuts on August 9 when he was approached by high prison officials. They told him he would be moved immediately to another prison.
Vietnam Reschedules Appeal for Mennonite Pastors
Lawyers acting on behalf of the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang informed his wife last week that his appeal before the People’s Supreme Court of Vietnam has been rescheduled for April 12.
Laos Detains 17 Christians, Believers Face “Torture And Death”
At least 17 Christian men in Laos, including church leaders, have been detained by Communist authorities and are facing torture and possible death amid an apparent new government crackdown on Christians, missionaries said Monday, April 4.Christian Aid Mission (CAM), an organization supporting indigenous missionaries, said most of those arrested since last week are from Hueyhoy Nua village in Laos’ troubled southern Savannakhet province.
President Flees Kyrgyzstan, Raising Hopes for Persecuted Christians
Persecuted Evangelical Christians and missionary workers in Kyrgyzstan were awaiting a new dawn late Thursday, March 24, as lawmakers of this former Soviet republic appointed a new interim president, news reports suggested.
Joni Eareckson Tada Takes on the Battle over Terri Schiavo on CNN’s Larry King Live
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (ANS) — Joni Eareckson Tada, well-known for her Christian disability ministry around the world, took on the case for re-inserting Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube before an audience of millions during a cable television program that aired March 24, 2005.
Prominent Eritrean Pastor Disappears in Asmara
A leading evangelical pastor disappeared off the streets of Asmara four days ago, presumably detained by Eritrean security forces and jailed at some unknown location.
US’s Rice To Visit China Church Amid Reports of Persecution
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to attend a church service for Palm Sunday in Beijing, aides said Saturday, March 19, just hours after a Christian news agency published letters of alleged persecuted Christians.
Iran Christian Colonel Jailed With Known Dissidents, report says
An Iranian Colonel who, despite Western protests, was jailed last month for his alleged “illegal” conversion to Christianity is held at Tehran’s notorious maximum-security prison with well-known political and religious dissidents, a Christian news agency reported late Friday, March 11.
China Deports American Church Leaders and Tortures Beijing Pastor, Watchdog claims
At least 10 foreign evangelical church leaders including eight Americans, one Taiwanese and an unknown number of South Koreans were detained and later deported by Chinese authorities, a Christian human rights watchdog said Thursday March 3.
Detained American Missionaries To Be Released From Dubai, Officials say
Two American Southern Baptist missionaries held under house arrest in Dubai for distributing Bibles and Christian literature are expected to be released this weekend, BosNewsLife learned Thursday, March 3.
Study Queries Protestant Clergy About Religious Persecution
Protestant ministers in the United States generally believe that religious persecution is a major problem in today’s world, and they believe the U.S. should impose sanctions against countries where this is occurring. These findings have just been released from a research study conducted among Protestant clergy in America.
Chinese Christians Testify of Persecution before UN Commission
For the first time in history, Chinese Christians gave evidence of persecution in April at a special meeting called by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) in Geneva. Several speakers testified to beatings, imprisonment, torture and damage to church buildings in recent years.
Egypt Christians Wounded in Muslim Violence
“Numerous Christian individuals” in Egypt and their properties were attacked by nearby Muslims angry over plans to found a church, an organization representing Egyptian believers confirmed Tuesday Nov. 18.
Afghan Trial Resumes Against Christian Workers; Family Urges Bush to Postpone Military Action
KABUL/ISLAMABAD (ANS) — The trial of eight Western aid workers accused of spreading Christianity in mainly Moslim Afghanistan resumed in the Afghan Capital Kabul Sunday, September 30, as family members pleaded to United States President George W. Bush to postpone retaliatory action against the country.
Christians Pray for Detained Aid Workers as US Launches New Air Strikes Against Afghanistan
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS) — As the United States began a second day of air and missile attacks against Afghanistan Monday October 8, round the clock prayers intensified for twenty-four Christian aid workers held in a prison of the country’s ruling Taliban regime.
Lawyer for Christian Aid Workers Returns to Kabul; British Reporter Shared Women’s Cell Last Week
ISTANBUL (Compass) — As aerial military strikes by U.S. forces continued to pound Afghanistan for the fourth consecutive day, the defense lawyer for eight Western relief workers imprisoned in Kabul left Pakistan this morning via the Khyber Pass to return to the Afghan capital.
Workers Christian Aid Agency Face Execution in Afghanistan As Islamic rulers launch crack-down again
KABUL/BUDAPEST (ANS)– There were new fears Thursday that 16 Afghan and eight foreign workers of the German based Christian relief agency Shelter Now International (SNI) may be executed, as the country’s Islamic rulers prepared to arrest more Christians, including children.
Parents See Detained Aid Workers In Afghanistan; Foreigners Could be Released, but Afghans may be Ex
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS)– Parents of two American women have seen their daughters for the first time since they and 22 other aid workers were arrested August 5th on charges of spreading Christianity in Islamic Afghanistan. The Bakhtar News Agency (BNA) described the visit as an “emotional reunion” between the mother of Dana Curry, and the father of the other woman, Heather Mercy.
Foreign Aid Workers May Still Face Executions; Afghan Christians Pressured to Give Up Christ
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS) — Afghanistan’s Islamic Taliban regime threatened Wednesday, September 5, to execute eight foreign Christian relief workers, as Western diplomats and relatives desperately tried to meet them.