ISTANBUL (Morning Star News) – Security forces arrested an Iranian pastor in Tehran after raiding his house and pressuring his church to close as a crackdown on Christians intensified ahead of June elections. Robert Asserian was arrested Tuesday during a prayer meeting at his Central Assemblies of God Church after authorities entered his house and […]
Sharofat Allamova, a Protestant from north-western Khorezm Region, has been given one and half years of corrective labor after being convicted under criminal charges of the “illegal production, storage, import or distribution of religious literature.” Fines have also been imposed on people for meeting in a private home and having Christian literature, as well as […]
Rome, Italy — Controversy is stirring over statements made by Pope Francis on Wednesday during a homily delivered at the Vatican, where he commented on the ability of all men to do good, including atheists. According to Vatican Radio, in speaking to his audience about his desire for unity, Francis discussed a passage from Mark […]
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of State released the 2012 International Religious Freedom Report on Monday, which summarizes the most concerning instances of religious oppression around the globe. The 23-page document is the 14th annual report of its kind, and is a fulfillment of the October 1998 International Religious Freedom Act. While the report touches […]
London, England — Two Muslim men beheaded a British soldier in broad daylight on Tuesday, then dumped his lifeless body in the road. According to reports, the two young Muslim males hit the soldier with a car, then hacked him to death with a meat cleaver, all the while yelling “Allah Akbar,” meaning “God is […]
Nigeria’s president declared a state of emergency Tuesday across the country’s troubled northeast, promising to send more troops to fight an increasingly violent Islamic insurgency. Islamist sect Boko Haram — whose name means “Western education is sacrilege” in the Hausa language of Nigeria’s north — has intensified its attacks on security forces and government targets […]
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied asylum to a Christian family that came to America to homeschool their children. As previously reported, Uwe and Hannelore Romeike fled to the United States in 2008 after German authorities demanded that they stop homeschooling their six children. Homeschooling was made illegal in the country in 1938 under […]
Washington, D.C. — Eight members of Congress are calling upon Secretary of State John Kerry to take action on behalf of the persecuted family of a blind Chinese activist who has taken refuge in America. In April 2012, Chen Guangcheng fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing after being placed on house arrest years prior […]
An American pastor that is imprisoned in his homeland of Iran for planting house churches in the country a decade ago has been sent back to general prison after spending a number of days, including his birthday, in solitary confinement. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which has been fighting for the release […]
The U.S. State Department and others are calling upon North Korean officials to release a Christian American that was recently sentenced to 15 years hard labor after being accused of attempting to overthrow the government. As previously reported, Kenneth Bae, who operates a Washington-based tourist company, was arrested not far from the city of Yanji […]