LONDON — A former Iranian Muslim turned Christian is applying for asylum in England once again after his application in 2018 was denied with the claim that he would not face a “real act of persecution” if he returned to the country. He fears being separated from his family and subjected to imprisonment, torture, and […]
(International Christian Concern) – Chao Vang* and his wife are ethnic Hmong who resided in Son La province in the Northwest region of Vietnam. Their faith in Christ in August 2018 turned their lives upside down. He soon was taken by village administrators and forced to recant his faith several times. After he repeatedly refused, […]
(Barnabas Aid) — Pakistan’s government approved a new law to monitor online platforms on Jan. 28, which would require social media companies to remove any “unwanted and slanderous” online content within 24 hours, or six hours in “emergency cases,” prompting concerns over “blasphemy” accusations. Any company failing to share any data or remove any content […]
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Three Christians in northern India spent more than two months in jail suffering abuse from other prisoners, even though police found no evidence of wrongdoing and the complainant retracted his accusation, sources said. In Uttar Pradesh state’s Mau District, 23-year-old pastor Ajay Kumar, fellow pastor Om Prakash, 20, and another […]
(International Christian Concern) – On Tuesday, February 18, a court in India’s Madhya Pradesh state acquitted eight Christians falsely accused of attempting to forcefully convert 60 children to Christianity. The court’s decision brings to a close a two-and-a-half-year legal battle that saw these eight Christians falsely accused of heinous crimes and imprisoned for months. In […]
(Church in Chains) — Christian rights activist Fatemeh (Mary) Mohammadi has been badly beaten and strip searched and is being detained in the notorious Qarchak women’s prison. A former Muslim, she has chosen to be known as Mary since her conversion. Mary, 21, was arrested on Jan. 12 near Azadi Square in Tehran during protests […]
(Barnabas Fund) — The bodies of two kidnapped Christians, seminary student Nnadi Michael and Bola Ataga, wife of a local doctor, were found dumped at the same location in Kaduna State, Nigeria, on Jan. 31. Nnadi Michael (18), was abducted from a seminary residence in Kakua on Jan. 8, along with Piusm Kanwai (19), Stephen […]
(Evangelical Focus) — At least 24 people were killed, including a church pastor, by unidentified gunmen who attacked a church in northern Burkina Faso, local officials said on Monday. The attack took place on Sunday during a worship service at a Protestant church in the village of Pansi in Yagha, a province near the border […]
Hong Kong/Macau (International Christian Concern) – In the midst of fighting the Coronavirus epidemic, China has announced that it will put Xia Baolong, previously known for removing thousands of crosses from churches in Zhejiang province, in charge of the cabinet-level office that oversees Hong Kong and Macau affairs. Xia, 67, the vice chairman of the […]
(Bitter Winter) — The persecution of house churches that belong to the so-called “gray market” — the largest segment of Chinese religion — has intensified dramatically since the new Regulations on Religious Affairs came into force in February 2018. Crackdowns on them have been implemented throughout the country, and Ninghai county in Zhejiang Province’s prefecture-level […]