Imprisoned Chinese Pastor Sues Government

Imprisoned Chinese Pastor Sues Government

GUIYANG, Guizhou (China Aid) — An imprisoned house church pastor filed a lawsuit against local government departments in China’s southern Guizhou province on Oct. 10, claiming his religious freedom had been violated and that a fine was wrongly imposed on him, ChinaAid learned recently. Li Guozhi, who is known by his alias, Yang Hua, pastored […]

Torture of Pastor in India Ruins His Livelihood, Hearing—But Not His Faith

Torture of Pastor in India Ruins His Livelihood, Hearing—But Not His Faith

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – A pastor in Uttar Pradesh, India has lost hearing in one ear after Hindu extremists tortured him, pressured police to falsely charge him and prevented doctors from treating him, sources said. Pastor Abhay Sagar, 37, of Biswan town in Sitapur District in the northern state, was about to begin preaching on Sept. […]

‘We Could Have Faced the Death Penalty’: Man Who Escaped North Korea Tells of Having to Keep Church ‘Secret’

‘We Could Have Faced the Death Penalty’: Man Who Escaped North Korea Tells of Having to Keep Church ‘Secret’

A North Korean man who escaped the country after being arrested, and was granted asylum in the United States, is telling his story of how he had to keep a church he founded underground and secret, else he possibly be put to death. “There were about nine people,” Choi Kwanghyuk told Fox News. “I couldn’t […]

Tajik Pastor Placed in Solitary Confinement in Prison Over 200 Miles From Home

Tajik Pastor Placed in Solitary Confinement in Prison Over 200 Miles From Home

(World Watch Monitor) — A Tajik Protestant church leader serving a three-year sentence for “singing extremist songs in church and so inciting religious hatred” has been moved to a prison 350km from his home and placed in solitary confinement. Bakhrom Kholmatov, 42, was sentenced in July under the Tajik Criminal Code Article 189 (“inciting national, […]

‘Unjust Law’ Still Denying Algerian Churches Their Right to Worship in Non-Religious Buildings

‘Unjust Law’ Still Denying Algerian Churches Their Right to Worship in Non-Religious Buildings

(World Watch Monitor) — Churches in northern Algeria continue to clash with the authorities over permission to hold services in non-religious buildings. Authorities in Tizi Ouzou province—100km east of the capital, Algiers—have said a 2006 law that regulates non-Muslim worship is breached by churches meeting in houses meant only for accommodation or commercial purposes. But […]

Concerns Expressed After Jharkhand, India Passes Anti-Conversion Law

Concerns Expressed After Jharkhand, India Passes Anti-Conversion Law

India (Mission Network News) — In India, religious minorities are seeing their freedoms slowly erode. The northeastern state of Jharkhand recently became the ninth state to pass anti-conversion laws, which are often used to suppress any religion other than Hinduism. “I think in the little over three years that we’ve had this government in place, we’ve certainly […]

Turkey Suggests Swapping Jailed US Pastor for Muslim Cleric

Turkey Suggests Swapping Jailed US Pastor for Muslim Cleric

(Fox News) — President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested Turkey could free an imprisoned American pastor if the Trump administration extradites a Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania—but the State Department says that won’t happen. American Pastor Andrew Brunson says he was jailed on bogus terrorism charges since his arrest last October. Erdoğan wants to put the […]

Nepali Christians Freed Nine Months After Conviction for ‘Witchcraft’ of Praying for Mentally-Ill Woman

Nepali Christians Freed Nine Months After Conviction for ‘Witchcraft’ of Praying for Mentally-Ill Woman

(World Watch Monitor) — Four Nepali Christians sentenced last year to five years in prison for “violence and witchcraft,” after praying for a mentally ill woman, have been released after their sentences were overturned. In a statement, the Federation of National Christian, Nepal (FNCN) thanked the court for “setting free our innocent people”, and said […]