NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Hindu extremists in Maharashtra state had severely beaten a pastor, pointed a gun at his head and were sprinkling gasoline on him to burn him to death when he began praying and praising Jesus. Pastor Prashant Bhatnager, 45, is still recovering from broken hand, arm and leg bones, as well […]
NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Islamic extremists targeted Christians in the shooting deaths of 12 non-local Kenyans at a guest-house in Kenya’s northeastern town of Mandera early this morning, sources said. Somali Al Shabaab rebels took responsibility for the pre-dawn attack on the guest-house, where a Kenyan theatre troupe from outside the area was staying, […]
TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian pastor who has been behind bars for the past five years has been set free, various sources report. As previously reported, Behnam Irani, who leads the 300-member Church of Iran in Karaj, was initially detained in 2006 while holding a Bible study and given a suspended five-year sentence. He was […]
Pakistan (Mission Network News) — Pakistan, already in the spotlight for religious freedom violations, now faces accusations of outright censorship. In an order issued three weeks ago, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which regulates television broadcasts in Pakistan, shut down Christian stations broadcasting in Urdu. Bruce Allen, of Forgotten Missionaries International, described the […]
JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – Two pastors and seven other Christians in Sudan were detained for four days last week after trying to stop a group of civilians and police from taking over their school, according to one of the arrested pastors. Local police on Oct. 6 arrested Samuel Suliman, headmaster of the Evangelical […]
LAGOS, Nigeria (Daily Post) — A 40-year-old Muslim cleric, Saheed Gbadamosi, was on Tuesday arraigned in an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly threatening to bathe a pastor with acid and destroying his church property. The accused, a resident of Aboru area of Iyana-Ipaja, is being tried for breach of peace, assault and threat to life. […]
(Christian Solidarity Nationwide) — Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), together with over 50 civil society organizations and Vietnamese religious groups, calls upon the Vietnamese government to further revise its draft Law on Belief and Religion, to conform with Vietnam’s obligations under international human rights law. This is Vietnam’s first law on religion and belief, and the current draft […]
(Morning Star News) – A pastor, his wife and their nine children have been sleeping on the floor of their small church building on the island of Zanzibar since Muslim extremists set their house on fire in August. Pastor Damson Maonesho has seen his 9-month-old baby contract pneumonia since his family had to take refuge […]
(China Aid) — Accused of gathering a congregation for religious services, a house church in China’s southwestern Sichuan province received orders on Sept. 2 to immediately stop meeting at their building and adhere to a list of restrictions. Issued to Zhang Daichun, a member of the church, a document entitled “Notice of Order to Reform” […]
ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – After a nine-year legal saga, a Turkish criminal court today sentenced five men to life in prison for the torture and murder of three Christians in southeast Turkey in 2007. The Malatya First Heavy Penal Court found Salih Gurler, Cuma Ozdemir, Abuzer Yildirim, Hamit Ceker and Emre Gunaydin guilty on […]