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Speak Out Against Persecution news 2006-2007

18 Oct 2007

China

Pastor Cai Zhuocha, well-known house church leader in Beijing , was recently released from prison. He was jailed in 2004 for 'illegal business' practices. He has been warned to stop practising his faith outside of the state-sanctioned church

Zhou Heng, the manager of Christian bookstore in Urumqi city, has been arrested with the same charge as Cai Zhuohua — 'illegal business practices' — for taking recept of three tons of Bibles that were not printed in China . They had been donated by South Korean churches and were to be distributed free of charge. It has been reported that he has been beaten while in prison.

Zhang Rongliang, a leader in Henan 's China from Christ Church, is desperately ill and still has several years to serve of his 7 year sentence. He suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure and can no longer walk. [Tears of the Oppressed]

West Papua

Church leader, Pastor Sofian Yoman, was last month threatened at gunpoint outside his church by Indonesian soldiers (TNI), police and intelligence agents because of his human rights advocacy and his exposure of the Papuan genocide. Two young men from the Maranatha Kingmi Protestant Church in Nabire were recently murdered in separate incidents but with identical injuries: deep knife wounds to the hands and feet and a smashed skull. TNI violence, ethnic and religious hatred are ever present, together with the threat of massacre and ethnic cleansing to seize land and exploit resources. The threat to the Church is serious as the Church is the primary voice for the predominantly Christian indigenous Papuan people. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

Nigeria

Persecution of Christians has intensified in Northern Nigeria since Sharia was enacted in the northern states. A recent Muslim pogrom in the town of Tudun Wada , Kano State , left 10 Christians dead, 61 injured and over 500 displaced, with nine churches razed. This bore all the signs of an orchestrated event: it was started by a totally unsubstantiated rumour (that a Christian had drawn a cartoon of Mohammed); it destroyed every church and Christian property in the town; and as Christians fled into the bush they were ambushed and killed by waiting Muslims. If there is no justice and no security then such violence will spread. This will be a test that could determine how northern Christians will fare under the new government of President Yar'Adua, a Muslim. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

Kazakhstan

Four members of Grace Presbyterian Church in Karaganda , north-eastern Kazakhstan are being investigated by the national security committee on charges of high treason. Church members deny that they are guilty of crimes against the state but in this Muslim country, government guidelines stipulate that 'transferring to other religious faiths represents treason to one's country and faith'. [Tears of the Oppressed]  

Turkey

On September 3, police in Turkey 's western city of Izmit arrested a man who lit a fire at the entrance to a local Protestant church and then shot off his pistol several times. The church's pastor is the brother-in-law of one of the converts to Christianity murdered in Malatya in April and has been targeted by Islamic extremists. Identified by police authorities as Semih Sahin, the man who set fire to the church entrance reportedly told interrogators that he had been "bothered" by what he heard and read in the newspapers about the Izmit Protestant Church, so he wanted to "make a scene" to arouse public attention against it. Just prior to the attack, on Saturday September 1, the Legal Committee of the Alliance of Protestant Churches of Turkey issued a report saying that the past year has seen "scores of threats or attacks on congregations and church buildings." The incident was recorded on a security camera installed by the church several months ago. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

Eritrea

Over 2000 Eritrean Protestant Christians are presently suffering cruel treatment for their faith under appalling conditions in Eritrean prisons. Recently 10 single Christian women who had been in prison for some 18 months were separated from other prisoners, ordered to recant their faith and were tortured when they refused. On Wednesday 5 September, Nigsti Haile (33) was tortured to death. She is the fourth Christian to die from torture in custody. The government has also started interfering in and seizing control of Catholic and Orthodox ministries. Eritrea is one of the world's most violently repressive states and religious liberty continues to deteriorate. Please pray that God will bring change to Eritrea . [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

Burma

Christians in Burma have been targeted by the military government for their religious practice and historical connections with the west, as well as their opposition to human rights violations, environmental degradation and the drug trade. Even so, all the people of Burma are suffering. Amnesty International has released accounts of homes being raided at night, family members seized as hostages and people herded into overcrowded and unsanitary detention centres — all of which flies in the face of the authorities' persistent claims that normality has returned to Myanmar, according to Catherine Baber, Head of Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Programme..

The international community has been more outspoken than previously in its criticism of the regime. You can help keep up the pressure for change by writing a letter similar to the one below [from Tears of the Oppressed].

17 Aug 2007

Iraq

The granting of protection visas to three diplomats and their families highlights the reality of religious persecution in Iraq, and also the brain drain that has resulted from the invasion. Christians tend to be better-educated and professional people. Colonel Askander, his wife Ibtisam (who is a gynaecologist) and their four children, as Christians, are at particular risk. His brother was kidnapped by terrorists and his brother-in-law murdered because he owned a shop that sold alcohol. [Some details from news.com.au]

In Syria and Jordan, minorities still wait for asylum. See SBS Dateline program (May 9, State of Despair ) for the story of Abu Maher a Mandaean jeweller who has twice had his application for asylum in Australia rejected, even though he was kidnapped and tortured in Iraq. See SBS website.

Laos

The Hmong live in the hills of northern Vietnam and Laos. Last century multitudes of Hmong became Christians, mainly in response to Gospel radio.

The Hmong fought alongside the US against the Communists during the second Indochina war, but by 1975 the US had left and the Communists had won. The Hmong, especially the Christians, were then persecuted severely. Laos is one of the world's worst abusers of religious liberty and Christians there are treated as state enemies. The government has vowed to 'eliminate Christianity'. In June US police uncovered a Hmong plot to overthrow the Laos government and rounded up the ringleaders in California. This has triggered severe persecution against Christian Hmong in Laos, where it is assumed the Christians have US links. Please pray. The situation is desperate. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

A harrowing story in the International Herald Tribune can be found at the International Herald Tribune website.

China

Christians in China expect further persecution in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics. Some 100 foreign Christians, who worked in universities, hospitals and orphanages, were deported between April and June this year, in an orchestrated campaign called 'Typhoon No 5'.

Chinese house church activist Hua Huiqi was released on July 26 after 6 months in prison for 'intervening in public affairs'. Hua was well known for his ministry to persecuted Christians and oppressed peasants. On July 11, however, the Zhongzhuang house church was raided and 8 people including the pastor were taken from the church. Several church workers required hospitalisation as a result of beatings. [Tears of the Oppressed]

It is important to keep up the pressure to make China aware that human rights violations are not acceptable. Please write a polite letter using the letter below as a sample:

 

20 July 2007

Indonesia

Three women convicted under Indonesia's child protection legislation for "Christianizing" Muslim children walked free from jail on June 8.Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun left Indramayu prison in West Java after serving almost two years of their three-year sentence. According to eyewitnesses, other female prisoners wept as the three Sunday School teachers left the complex . [Tears of the Oppressed]

Bangladesh

On 12 June, 42 local new Christian converts from Islam were baptised in a river in Nilphamari district, north-west Bangladesh. Mosque authorities in the village of Durbachari Bhatiapara then banned Christians from using the village well, the area's only source of potable water. The new believers were repeatedly questioned as to why they had converted and whether they had received money or gifts.

Then on Tuesday 26 June Muslims there and in nearby Laksmirdanga bound and beat ten local Christians so severely several were hospitalised.

The next day Muslims told the Christians to pack up and leave within 24 hours or their homes would be torched. When Rev. Hirak Adhikari and two companions took a complaint to the police they were arrested for 'inducing Muslims to convert to the Christian faith'.

One Bangladesh observer comments that such violence against Christians, especially converts from Islam, is not new but is common and widespread. Please pray for the Church in Bangladesh. As radical Islam spreads and grows, these attacks are likely to become even more common and severe, especially in the current climate of unrest and political paralysis. [World Evangelical Alliance - Religious Liberty}

India

On June 8, a mob of Hindu extremists beat a pastor and tried to set him on fire before parading him naked in Hessarghatta, 30km from Bangalore in Karnataka state. Some 150 people allegedly led by Hindu extremists cornered independent pastor Laxmi Narayan Gowda in a room in his house, and began assaulting him in front of his wife and two small children. One of the assailants threw kerosene on the pastor, and another tossed a burning Bible onto him. But miraculously he did not catch fire, said Sam Joseph, a Karnataka-based leader of the All India Christian Council. The extremists then stripped the pastor naked and hung a board around his neck that said, "I am the one who was converting people," before parading him through the area.

In a mark of unity, Christian victims of persecution and five widows of men martyred for their Christian faith gathered in Bangalore on June 21-22. The participants shared their grief over mob violence involving home raids and attacks on places of worship. [Tears of the Oppressed]

Iraq

The BBC website has a report on a campaigning Iraqi MP who claims that Iraq 's minorities are suffering a persecution, at times verging on genocide,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6293230.stm

Malaysia

Malaysian convert to Christianity from Islam, 43-year-old Lina Joy, has lost her seven-year battle to have her religious status adjudicated by the country's civil laws. Instead, if she wishes to legally change her religion, her case must go before Malaysia's Islamic sharia' courts, where she would be viewed as an "apostate" Muslim.

Born Azlina Jalaini to ethnic Malay Muslim parents, Lina Joy converted to Christianity at the age of 26. Although the National Registration Department allowed her to change her name, it would not change her religion on her identity card, which means she continues to be subject to Islamic law. Human rights organisations and church leaders have spoken out against the decision, while many Muslim groups have supported it. [Tears of the Oppressed]

 

25 May 2007

Pakistan

Despite President Musharraf's assurances and his reported alliance with the West in the War on Terror, religious liberty and security for Pakistan 's 3% Christian minority have deteriorated markedly. Many thousands of Islamic madrassas continue to pump out militant and angry Taliban who are fluent in the Quran and hungry for jihad in Afghanistan as well as the Islamisation of Pakistan.

At the root of Pakistan 's problem is the pro-Sharia, Islamist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA: an alliance of six pro-Sharia, Islamist parties), an avowed enemy of secularisation, progress and 'enlightened moderation'. MMA holds the balance of power in Pakistan 's National Assembly and President Musharraf frequently makes quid pro quo deals with them to advance his own agenda, which is to stay in power. But by doing this Musharraf is enabling MMA to advance their agenda, which is the Islamisation of Pakistan. [See SBS Dateline for more on this issue http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/index.php?page=archive&daysum=2007-05-23# ]

On 9 May the MMA tabled its Apostasy Act 2006 in Pakistan 's National Assembly. Under this Act, a male apostate (one who leaves Islam) would receive the death penalty and a female apostate would be imprisoned for life or until she 'repents'. Apostates would also forfeit their property and lose legal custody of their children. The testimony of two witnesses would be sufficient for a conviction. The National Assembly passed the bill for review by a standing committee. During the same session, the Assembly rejected a draft bill moved by minority member, Mr MP Bhandara, to amend the notorious Blasphemy Law.

The MMA governs Pakistan 's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), bordering Afghanistan. Islamisation, Taliban and lawlessness are rife. Over recent weeks Islamic militants in NWFP have perpetrated numerous terrorist bombings aimed at purging NWFP of everything un- Islamic. In Charsadda district (154km northeast of the provincial capital, Peshawar ) bombs planted in local markets have destroyed numerous video, music and CD stalls and barber shops. Owners of stores trading in the 'un-Islamic' have been ordered to close or 'suffer dire consequences'. Female students in neighbouring Mardan district have been threatened if they keep attending school. Girls Higher Secondary School at Gumbat was bombed in the early morning of 4 May. On Tuesday 15 May a suicide bomber killed at least 25 people in a restaurant in Peshawar. Strapped to the leg of the bomber was a message in Pashto that included the warning: 'Those who spy for America will face this same fate.'

Some 500-600 Christians live in Charsadda district. Last week their churches were issued hand-written letters in Urdu with the ultimatum that Christians had ten days to close their churches and flee. Any who stayed and did not convert to Islam would suffer the consequences. While some families have reportedly fled, others despite their fear have declared publicly that they will not flee and will not convert. Security has been tightened and uniformed and plainclothes police are providing protection and patrolling local churches.

Pray for protection for the Christians of NWFP, especially those in Charsadda district where Christians have been specifically targeted and threatened . [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty ]

India

Persecution of Christians is escalating across India as the Hindu nationalists propagandise that Indian harmony, culture, identity, security, sovereignty and territorial integrity are seriously threatened by missionaries, whom they describe as terrorists, separatists or CIA operatives. Recently Hindu militants in two states attacked Christian pastors in front of television cameras. On 19 April, Pastor Walter Masih of Jaipur, Rajasthan, was beaten by some 20 militant youths. On 7 May in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, two priests, Ramesh Gopargode and Ajit Belavi, were beaten in the street by a mob, dragged into a police station, charged with 'conversion activity' and locked up. The TV images then turn the criminals into cult heroes, while testing every Christian's sense of security.

In February, Punjab and Uttarakhand which were held by Congress fell to the BJP in state elections. In Uttarakhand the BJP is only one seat short of a clear majority. In both states there are now calls for 'anti-conversion' legislation. Subsequently the BJP contested the Uttar Pradesh state election in May with supreme confidence, distributing a highly controversial, primarily anti- Muslim sectarian CD, confident they would win on communalism. However they were profoundly rejected and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) reaped the benefit, winning with a clear majority on a 'Dalit-centred' platform of development with justice. The BSP was led by Mayawati, a Dalit woman who grew up in slums, fielding 139 upper- caste candidates including 86 Brahmins, alongside 91 Dalit candidates ('untouchables'). The massive rejection of the BJP campaign in Uttar Pradesh (a state of 170 million) is very encouraging.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten people to the ugliness of hate and the negative results of communalism Pray for the safety of the tens of thousands of courageous indigenous missionaries and for their ministry to be powerfully blessed .
[World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty ]

Iraq

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom met in private session with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday, May 11, to discuss the Commission's grave concern over the alarming and deteriorating situation for freedom of religion and belief in Iraq, a country the Commission designated for its Watch List earlier this month.

Although non-state actors, particularly the Sunni-dominated insurgency, are responsible for a substantial proportion of the sectarian violence and associated human rights violations, the Iraqi government also bears responsibility. 

The Commission also expressed concern over the plight of non-Muslims in Iraq, including Chaldo Assyrian Christians, Yazidis, and Sabean Mandaean s, whose communities now face the threat of eradication from their ancient homelands in Iraq under pervasive and severe violence and discrimination at the hands of both government and non-government actors. 

The Annual Report and the letter to Secretary Rice are available online at www.uscirf.gov.

Turkey

In a gruesome assault against Turkey's tiny Christian community, five young Muslim Turks entered a Christian publishing office in the south-eastern province of Malatya in April and slit the throats of the three Protestant Christians present. Two of the victims, Necati Aydin, 36, and Ugur Yuksel, 32, were Turkish converts from Islam. The third man, Tilmann Geske, 46, was a German citizen.

The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has condemned the murder of the three Christians. The murders, for which 12 people are currently under investigation, will have no direct effect on Turkey's EU membership talks but they raise the question of religious freedom in Turkey.

More at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/aprilweb-only/116-52.0.html

Azerbaijan

Baptist pastor Zaur Balaev has been detained by police in Azerbaijan since Sunday (20 May), when police raided his church's worship service. Police claim that Balaev was arrested as he resisted them, but this is strongly denied by witnesses. The police also claim that the church has no right to meet, as it is not registered. The authorities have put Pastor Balaev's church under strong pressure since its foundation. "We are immensely humiliated as human beings in a country which pretends to be democratic," one congregation member said. "We are discriminated against in many ways." It has been suggested that the raid and detention is in retaliation for protests against the authorities' attempts to demolish a church member's home. Also, in their latest refusal to register the birth of a Protestant family's child, the authorities are refusing to register the birth of Ilya Eyvazov - who officially does not exist and so cannot have health care. [ Forum 18 ]

22 March 2007

China

Liu Fenggang, a well-known Beijing church activist, has been released and returned to his home after serving three years in prison in Zhejiang. He was arrested in October, 2003 for "providing national intelligence to foreign organizations" by reporting a house church destruction case to Christian groups overseas. During his imprisonment he was hospitalized five times for serious heart disease and diabetes. Previously he had spent two years in a labour camp because of his work among house churches .

Meanwhile, another Beijing church activist, Hua Huiqi, along with his elderly mother, Shuang Shuying, have been attacked and detained by police. In detention since January 26 for allegedly "intervening in public affairs", Hua suffered beatings and water torture in custody. He has since been formally charged with "obstructing justice". Sources close to him believe these charges to be baseless. Hua and his wife are active house church Christians in Beijing, where they have been assisting persecuted Christians and oppressed peasants who travel to Beijing to seek justice from the central government. [Tears of the Oppressed]

Nigeria

Secondary school pupils in the north-east of the country have killed a teacher after apparently accusing her of desecrating the Koran, police say. The teacher, a Christian, was attacked after supervising an exam in Gombe city. It is not clear what she had done to anger the students. The authorities, concerned that communal unrest could break out, have ordered all the city's schools to shut. Similar accusations sparked riots in neighbouring Bauchi State last year. At least 15,000 people have been killed in religious, communal or political violence since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999. [ BBC 21/3 ]

Uzbekistan

On 9 March, Judge M Tulanov of the Andijan Criminal Court sentenced a leading registered Protestant pastor to a penal colony for four years after a sham trial. Pastor Shestakov (37), married with three daughters, is charged with inciting enmity through religion. This internal exile in one of Uzbekistan 's numerous Soviet-era penal colonies where prisoners are used for slave labour in local industries could mark the start of a wave of persecution. Please pray for God's intervention . [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

Indonesia

An Indonesian court has jailed three Islamic militants for up to 20 years over the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls in Sulawesi in 2001. The crime drew international condemnation. The court sentenced Hasanuddin, alias Slamet Raharjo, who came up with the idea of decapitating the girls to mark a Muslim holiday, to 20 years in prison.

"The accused was proven to plan and move other people to carry out terror acts," the judge said. A separate court sentenced two of 34-year-old Hasanuddin's accomplices, Lilik Purnomo and Irwanto Irano, to 14 years in jail for "evil plotting of, attempts of, or providing assistance to, a crime of terrorism."

The teenage girls were walking home from school when they were beheaded by machete in 2005 during a festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A fourth girl survived and fled with serious injuries.

The severed heads were dumped near a police post and a church after the attack in Sulawesi 's religiously divided district of Poso, where Muslims and Christians live in roughly equal numbers. Poso has seen sporadic unrest since violence between Muslims and Christians claimed around 1,000 lives in 2000 and 2001. Tension rose again in September after three Christians were executed for inciting religious attacks

The verdicts appeared reasonable but could lead to protests, said Sidney Jones, the head of the International Crisis Group in Indonesia. "There will probably be some unhappy people in the Christian community," she said. Roy Rening, the lawyer who represented the executed Christians, said the fact that three Muslims had escaped the death penalty showed law enforcement in Indonesia was unjust. "This clearly shows that our judicial system is in bad shape," he said. Rachland Nashidik, the executive director of rights group Imparsial, was also perturbed by the difference. Some might wonder if it was a case of "death for non-Muslims and a lesser punishment for Muslims," he said. [SBS 22/3]

Vietnam

In later 2006 the Vietnamese government quietly repressed Christian lawyer, Nguyen Van Dai (38), an advocate for religious liberty, human rights and democracy who has represented Vietnam 's persecuted Church in the courts. Lawyer Dai, who had been honoured by Human Rights Watch, is one of three Christians arrested on 6 March and charged with 'propagandising against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam'. He is accused of gathering 'evidence that Vietnam suppresses religion' to distribute to 'enemy forces and to reactionaries residing abroad'.

In November 2006 Vietnam was taken off USA 's blacklist of religious persecutors, was accepted into the World Trade Organisation and hosted a successful APEC Summit. With all that achieved, Vietnam unleashed a major crackdown on human rights and democracy advocates. Please pray for Vietnam . [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

Iraq

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom on March 12 expressed its grave concern about the growing Iraqi refugee crisis that has seen more than 1.8 million people displaced from their homes inside Iraq and close to 2 million forced to take refuge outside their homeland. The Commission has raised this issue repeatedly in recent years and is urging the U.S. government to take decisive action to accommodate more Iraqi refugees in this country. "The United States must act immediately to identify the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees and move quickly to resettle them in the United States. As a nation founded by those fleeing repression, we must find room in our hearts and communities to help these uprooted people," said Felice D. Gaer, chair of the Commission.

Among the most vulnerable are Chaldo-Assyrians, Sabean Mandaean s and Yazidis, who make up a disproportionately large number of refugees from Iraq. These religious minorities report that they are targeted because they do not conform to Muslim practices or are perceived as working for the U.S.-led multinational forces. Members of these communities have been targeted in violent attacks, including murder, torture, abductions for ransom and reportedly for forced conversion, rape and destruction of community property. Additionally, in the sectarian strife that has engulfed Iraq, members of many Muslim communities have suffered attacks by their rivals.

According to the Iraqi Ministry for Migration and Displacement, nearly half the members of Iraq 's non-Muslim minorities have fled abroad. The UNHCR estimates that these minorities, who account for 3 percent of the population, comprise about a third of the Iraqis who have sought sanctuary outside their country.

[ The USIRF's recommendations can be found at http://www.uscirf.gov/mediaroom/press/2007/march/20070312IraqReligMinorities.html]

11 February 2007

China

Outspoken human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been given a suspended sentence of three years in prison, for charges of "inciting subversion". Gao, who has defended several high-profile religious freedom cases, will only be imprisoned if he is convicted of any other offences in the next five years. His pre-Christmas trial and sentencing was shrouded in secrecy to avoid international attention. Even his wife, Geng He, and other family and friends were not allowed to attend. Gao was first detained last August after months of harassment and threats, and at the time of writing, he was still in detention .

Also late last year, a number of Christmas house church celebrations were raided by police. Three female church leaders — Liu Guanghua, Zhi Huiping, and Zhi Ruiping — were detained in a raid in Duolun county, Inner Mongolia. In a New Year Christian gathering in Xiuwu County, Henan province, police declared the meeting illegal and detained 11 people. Only two were later released. [ Tears of the Oppressed ]

A poll of 4,500 people by professors at the East China Normal University in Shanghai has found 31.4% of people above the age of 16 considered themselves as religious. This suggests 300 million people nationwide could be religious, compared to the official figure of 100 million. The average age of religious believers had fallen from 40 years or older in the previous decade; two-thirds of those in the recent poll who considered themselves religious are aged between 16 and 39.

China is regularly criticised for cracking down on unauthorised worship. Believers are only allowed to attend government-approved churches, mosques and temples. Correspondents say the poll's findings back up suspicions that religion has been enjoying a resurgence in China over the past 20 years, as Communist Party disapproval has eased. But the party is still ready to deal harshly with any religious group it perceives to be a challenge to its authority - especially the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong, which was not mentioned in the reports.

The survey found that Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Christianity and Islam are the country's five major religions - China considers Catholicism as separate to Christianity, which covers Protestantism. About 200 million believers "are Buddhists, Taoists or worshippers of legendary figures such as the Dragon King and God of Fortune", the China Daily reported. The survey also found a significant rise in Christianity - accounting for 12% of all believers, or 40 million, compared with the official figure of 16 million in 2005. [ BBC 7/2/07]

India

About 25 members of the Hindu extremist group Dharam Sena (Religion Army) attacked a pastors' conference in Raipur, Chhattisgarh state, on Friday (February 2), injuring at least 10 Christians. The attack took place at about 3:30 p.m. as organizers were preparing the opening session at the Singh Palace banquet hall in Pandri, a sub-district of Raipur. "When the Dharam Sena barged into the hall, my female manager tried to stop them, but they manhandled her and then proceeded to attack the participants," Jay Prakash, the Christian owner of Singh Palace, told Compass. The extremists shouted " Jai Shri Ram ! [Hail god Rama]" as they beat the Christians with sticks, verbally insulted them and accused them of forcibly converting Hindus. Participants searched in vain for hiding places. "My staff locked one elderly Christian couple into a room for their safety," Prakash said. [ Tears of the Oppressed ]

Sri Lanka

Tamil Mission Church pastor in Jaffna, Rev. Nallathamby Gnanasee.lan, 38, was shot and killed by Sri Lankan security forces on 13 January, after taking his wife and child to hospital. Security forces initially claimed he was carrying explosives, but then changed the story to say he was shot because he failed to stop when challenged. Churches ask for prayer and warn that violence in Sri Lanka is escalating. [ Tears of the Oppressed]

Iraq

The situation for Christians in Iraq is increasingly desperate . The Islamist influence is strong. Muslim classmates accuse Christian children of being spies and bringing the occupation to Iraq. In Mosul, Christian women are being forced to cover their hair and bodies in public, after a campaign to institute Muslim dress.

"There's a saying in Iraq that after Saturday comes Sunday," said Nina Shea, Commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, who gave evidence to the Iraq Study Group. "It's been in graffiti, it's on the walls. That means after the Jews come the Christians. "The Jews have all been driven out, except for an elderly remnant that's too old to leave. Now the Christians are being driven out." [ Tears of the Oppressed ]

For an informative article on Islam in Iraq, see http://www.barnabasfund.org/news/archives/article.php?ID_news_items=243

Central Asia

As religious liberty for churches in Central Asia deteriorates, some common trends are evident. Governments are increasingly negative about Christian outreach, especially amongst the Muslim population, and want to control it more or stop it completely. They fear tensions may escalate where the number of Christian converts in the local population is growing. In other instances governments legislate to control minority religious bodies due to concerns about the activities of Islamic groups. However, as Christians are a religious minority throughout Central Asia, they are restricted by such laws along with these Islamic and other minority religious groups. In addition local Muslim communities regard Muslim converts to Christianity as 'traitors' and enemies and persecute them in various ways.

In Uzbekistan religious liberty and persecution of Christians worsened significantly in 2006. Its laws ban missionary work and any unregistered religious activities. As there are few registered churches, many Christians have to meet secretly in homes under constant threat of arrest for illegal religious activities. Police raids are common and often lead to Christians being arrested, beaten and even tortured, and their literature and other Christian material destroyed. Uzbek believers are especially persecuted under pressure to reconvert to Islam. The law prohibits having more than one copy of a Christian book including the Bible. (That would indicate an intention to distribute Christian literature, a missionary activity.) After denying visas to many foreign missionaries the authorities found ways to deport local Uzbek believers during 2006. The situation for the Protestant Christians is especially hard in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan where all the Christian churches were closed except for one Russian Orthodox church. The Russian Orthodox Church is very supportive of the laws banning outreach. Another serious problem Christians face in Uzbekistan is severe discrimination in employment. The US State Department included Uzbekistan in its annual list of countries of special concern.

Religious freedom is better in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. However in 2006 the authorities increased their pressure on the Protestant churches who also suffered from negative media reports. Some Islamic leaders stir up religious hatred amongst local Muslims against Christians. In Oshskaya a group of local Muslims broke into and searched the house of a Protestant pastor, burning his Christian literature. They beat him severely and threatened to kill him if he does not leave their village. The police were present but did not intervene. Muslim families routinely persecute members who convert to Christianity. In 2006, planned amendments to Kyrgyzstan 's law on religion were discussed which would restrict outreach especially amongst Muslims.

In Tajikistan the law allows freedom of religion but Christian converts from Islam face the same persecution from their family members and the Tajik community. The government cannot guarantee protection for the Christians if they are persecuted by the Islamic population. Most of the people still live in tremendous poverty, especially in the villages, but the community and family members are normally very supportive of one another. However Christians are excluded from both relief and community support.

In Azerbaijan a new bill on religion being drafted to go to the parliament in February 2007 is expected to propose tougher restrictions on missionary activities and evangelism. The new law would also make registering religious organisations more difficult.

The churches in Kazakhstan have more freedom than in other Central Asian countries but groups for whom registering is contrary to their beliefs get arrested and fined because their religious activities are considered illegal. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

West Papua

Clergy have demanded the right to run church affairs without intimidation and government interference, after Indonesian police stormed the office of the Gereja Kingmi church synod office in Jayapura on December 28 last year. Two pastors were injured in the incident fter the intrusion, 400 members of the church gathered outside the office in a peaceful protest. This resulted in the withdrawal of police after 24 hours. Rev. Benny Giay, the Chair of the Kingmi Church Bureau, says the occupation was an unprecedented action by police and amounted to an attack on religious freedom. "This attack by police is not just against church activists working to defend human rights," he said. "It is an attack on the institution of the Church itself."

During the incident, police accused Rev. Giay and his associate, Rev. Noakh Nawipa, of being involved in an armed attack in August 2002, which resulted in the deaths of two US teachers and one Indonesian. However, Benny Giay is a well-known peace activist in the Papuan non-violence movement and denies all charges. Other accusations include the church's involvement as the "religious arm" of the OPM — the Free Papua Movement — which supports an armed struggle for Papuan independence.

Previously, the Kingmi Church had ties with an Indonesian parent church, but gained autonomy for its own synod last year. It is thought that authorities have interpreted this as a "separatist" activity encouraging Papuan independence from Indonesia and have therefore targeted the church leaders.

Supporters of human rights in Papua are increasingly concerned that in the current climate of oppression, a number of prominent clergymen—already under constant surveillance — are at risk of assassination. [ Tears of the Oppressed]

15 December 2006

Sudan

From 1983 to January 2005 the predominantly Christian peoples of Southern Sudan suffered immensely under the violent Islamic jihad of the Islamist Government of Sudan (GoS). The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in January 2005 is not being implemented. Most seriously, clashes are occurring between Southern Sudan 's army and GoS-sponsored militias. Malakal in Southern Sudan is oil rich.

Recently a GoS-sponsored militia provoked a clash that escalated into a significant military confrontation that left around 300 dead and 500 wounded. Islamists in Khartoum have always opposed peace on ideological grounds and the GoS is hungry for the south's oil.

After 21 years of suffering and loss, the Southern Sudanese dread the prospect of a return to war. Please pray for peace and deliverance from evil. [World Evangelical Alliance ]

Iraq

Fr Douglas Yousef Al-Bazy (34), a Chaldean Catholic priest who had been kidnapped from his Baghdad parish, has been released without serious injury. He was not tortured during his nine-day captivity. Fr Al-Bazy has said, 'I know that the prayers of people saved me.' He regards his life as being 'in the hand of God' and despite the dangers he plans to return to his ministry in St Elijah's Church. At about the same time, Father Samy Abdulahad Al-Raiys was freed after six days. He was kidnapped on the morning of 4 December after he left home for the Church of Mar Khorkhis (Saint George) in the Al-Sinaa district of Baghdad. Fr Abdulahad is also a professor of theology at the Chaldean Babel Seminary which has been temporarily closed due to insecurity.

On Sunday 26 November Presbyterian elder Munthir (69) was kidnapped at gunpoint outside his home as he returned from worship at the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Mosul. The kidnappers negotiated for three days before cutting off all communication. On Thursday 30 November Elder Munthir's body was found, after he had been executed the previous evening. Munthir was the sixth generation of his family to serve in Mosul 's Presbyterian Church. [WEA]

India

Around 800 Dalits (formerly known as 'untouchables'), comprising those of Christian, Hindu and Buddhist background, joined together on Dec 11 in a protest in Parliament Street, New Delhi, to call upon the Indian government to provide Dalit Christians with the same rights as other Dalits. [Christian Solidarity Worldwide]

Pakistan

After eight-and-a-half years in jail, Pakistani Christian Ranjha Masih was acquitted of blasphemy charges by Lahore 's high court on November 10. At the end of a two-hour hearing on the case, Presiding Justice Asif Saeed Khan ruled that the lack of evidence against Masih meant he deserved a complete acquittal.

Masih, 58, was originally arrested during a funeral procession for former Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad, John Joseph, in 1998. The Bishop had committed suicide to protest the targeting of Christians under Pakistan 's Islamic blasphemy laws. Masih, a close friend of the Bishop, was accused of throwing stones and knocking down a sign that displayed a verse from the Quran during the procession [Tears of the Oppressed]

China

A Chinese lawyer who is well-known for taking on politically sensitive cases is reported to have been put on trial for subversion. Gao Zhisheng's own lawyer said the trial had taken place in Beijing on Tuesday and that a verdict was pending. If found guilty, Mr Gao could face up to 15 years in prison. He has angered the authorities for representing religious activists, which included members of the banned spiritual organisation Falun Gong and members of an underground church, and farmers with land disputes. Earlier this year, Mr Gao organised a protest over what he called widespread police brutality against activists. [BBC 12/12]

Eritrea

Amnesty International has welcomed the release of Eritrean gospel singer Helen Berhane, who had been held incommunicado without charge or trial for two and a half years, who spent most of her detention locked up in a metal shipping container. But AI remains concerned by the recent arrest of 160 men, women and children who were members of banned churches in Eritrea.

On 15 and 16 October worshippers of the Kale Hiwot (Word of God) Church, the Full Gospel Church, the Church of the Living God and the Rema Church —none of which is officially recognised in Eritrea —were arrested. It is not known where they are being held and they are at risk of torture.  Two of the men who were detained—Immanuel Andegergesh and Kibrom Firemichael—are reported to have died after being tortured in an effort to force them to renounce their faith.

Amnesty International UK Media Director, Mike Blakemore said: 'Despite the news of Helen Berhane's release, Amnesty International remains concerned that the systematic persecution of people on the basis of their religion continues unabated in Eritrea. This is absolutely unacceptable and Amnesty will continue to campaign for these people to be released and for international law to be upheld.'

An Amnesty report released last year found that in 2005 the Eritrean government had increased the violent repression of religious minorities. The crackdown, which started without any explanation in 2003, is part of a general disregard by the Eritrean government for human rights by President Issayas Afewerki's government, which has been in power since the country's independence from Ethiopia in 1991. 'What is happening in Eritrea is a total violation of human rights and cannot be allowed to continue. This is why Amnesty is urgently appealing to its members to write to the Eritrean authorities to ask for the immediate and unconditional release of these Christians recently arrested.'

In addition to the 160 Christians recently arrested, there are scores of members of other faith groups who have been kept in indefinite and incommunicado detention without charge or trial. They include three Jehovah's Witnesses detained for 12 years for refusing military service, and dozens of members of dissenting groups of the official Orthodox Church and Muslim Council. [Amnesty International]

03 November 2006

Iran

The release of Iranian pastor, Hamid Pourmand, took place quietly on July 20. Mr Pourmand was sent home without explanation, being told he was no longer required to serve out the remaining 14 months of his prison sentence. Hamid Pourmand, 49, was a colonel in the Iranian army. Born a Muslim, he became a Christian more than 25 years ago - a 'crime' punishable by the death penalty in the strict Islamic state of Iran. Much respected in the army, authorities turned a blind eye to Pourmand's Christianity, allowing him to progress through the ranks, and even excusing him from participating in Muslim fasting and feasting.

After nine days in secret police custody, Reza Montazami and his wife, Fereshteh Dibaj, were released on bail by order of a Revolutionary Court. Montazami's elderly parents posted bail for the detained Christian couple, turning over the title deed for property worth $25,000. Within hours, Montazami and his wife were allowed to return home. Although no specific charges against the couple have been made public, the file on their case reportedly remains open. On 26 September Reza Montazami (35) and his wife Fereshteh Dibaj (28), house-church leaders in Mashhad, Iran, were arrested and taken to a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Fereshteh is the daughter of Rev Mehdi Dibaj who was imprisoned in Iran for nine years before being sentenced to death for apostasy. An international advocacy campaign led by Iranian Bishop Haik gained Mehdi Dibaj's release in January 1994. However over the next few months Bishop Haik, his successor Bishop Michaellian and Dibaj were all kidnapped and murdered by a team from Iran 's secret police under the command of Mahmoud Saeedi. Saeedi today holds the post of Deputy Minister of Interior in the government of President Ahmadinejad. [ Amnesty International/ Tears of the Oppressed]

Iraq

The relatives of a Christian priest who was kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq have said that his Muslim captors had demanded his church condemn the Pope's recent comments about Islam and pay a US$350,000 ransom. Before Father Amer Iskender was kidnapped, his relatives said, the church already had put up signs condemning the statement and calling for good relations between Christians and Muslims. The message was posted again, they said, after the priest's kidnappers made their demand.
They were speaking as more than 500 people attended a memorial service on Thursday for Iskender after his decapitated body was found in an industrial area of the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday. Iskender was a priest at the St. Ephrem's Orthodox church in Mosul. [ Aljazeera ]

Turkey

Congratulations to Orhan Pamuk for winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. On 23 January 2006, the case against the Turkish novelist was dropped. The writer was facing charges under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code after commenting on the deaths of Kurds and Armenians in the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger.

In August 1939, Hitler justified his plan to destroy Poland and create a new order by asking, "Who remembers now the extermination of the Armenians?"  A very good article by Robert Fisk on the subject ["Let me denounce genocide from the dock"] may be found at http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15304.htm

Ethiopia

In early October Ethiopian and Somali Muslim fundamentalists in Dembi, western Ethiopia, attacked Christians celebrating their traditional Meskel ('cross') festival which marks the beginning of Spring. Dutch news agency Reformatorisch Dagblad reported 31 Christians were killed, dozens were taken hostage, five churches and hundreds of homes were burnt, five other churches were seized and converted to mosques, and some 3000 Christians were displaced and are now receiving emergency food aid through Samaritan's Purse. Please pray for God to protect Christians in the Horn of Africa as religious (and regional) tensions grow. Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Islamists have declared jihad against Ethiopia. Christians in the Muslim-populated outer regions of Ethiopia are suffering rising Muslim hostility.  [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty ]

India

On 3 October Hindu reporters attended a 1000-strong prayer meeting at the Abundant Life Church in Belahta, Uttar Pradesh, a state ruled by a coalition that includes the BJP. According to Compass Direct (CD) local Hindu media claimed the next day that 350 Hindus had been forcibly converted to Christianity in Belahta. Extremists accompanied by police then threatened the believers. On 6 October villagers stormed another branch of the Abundant Life Church in Lesuka, about 12km from Belahta, and beat four believers. Unable to get police protection the church cancelled its Sunday worship. Also in Uttar Pradesh in early October, hundreds of Hindu fanatics attacked and ransacked a shelter for widows and a school for poor children run by an American Christian couple whom the militants accused of proselytism and forced conversions. 

On 4 October Hindu extremists in the western state of Orissa publicly humiliated, tortured and later abducted a Christian youth, Ranjan Dangua, allegedly to punish him for accepting Christianity. Hindu nationalists in Orissa continue to forcibly 'reconvert' tribal Christians to Hinduism with the sanction of the BJP, which rules Orissa as part of a coalition. 

On 10 October in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, some 70 Hindu extremists attacked the annual convention of a Pentecostal church in Jabalpur. Police prevented the militants from storming the convention but the facility was vandalised and the militants have threatened to bomb the property.

On 10 October the state government in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh took over the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in Lundra and fired 17 of its employees. ICDS has been run since 1995 by Raigarh- Ambikapur Health Association (RAHA), a Catholic voluntary health service.

Due to false TV reports some 500 angry Hindu villagers stormed the Lourd Matha Seva Ashram home for the destitute in Karnataka state on 14 October. CD reports that eight Christian workers at the home were remanded in custody until October 28 while the residents were all moved to a government facility. Hindu radicals levelled fabricated charges such as trafficking in human organs, later disproved. Karnataka is ruled by a coalition that includes the BJP. [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty ]

 

09 July 2006

Lebanon

Christian leaders in Lebanon have called on Christians around the world to pray for them. “We are in utmost need of encouragement and prayers, so that we faithfully hold fast as a witnessing community where we are,” a pastor from southern Lebanon told Christian TV network, Arab Vision.

Emotions are running high in the churches after Israeli air strikes targeting Hezbollah militants destroyed Lebanese roads, bridges and communication lines, leaving many people without adequate food, water and shelter. An official ceasefire came into place on August 14 — but not before thousands of people were displaced and 1,000 Lebanese and 150 Israelis lost their lives.

In response to the crisis, Christian leaders are calling for forgiveness. One report tells of a Sunday service recently, when one preacher asked his congregation to raise their hands to signify whom they thought was responsible for the war — Hezbollah or Israel. He then asked those who raised their hands to stand up and pray for the side they blamed. “It is only by love, forgiveness and grace that we can overcome anger, hatred and bitterness towards those who cause us to suffer,” he said.

A long history of inter-religious tribalism—not only between Christians and Muslims, but also between different Muslim sects and different Christian denominations—continues to create a culture of mistrust in Lebanese society today. Churches are not immune. On August 2, some 20 Maronite Catholics attacked a newly built evangelical Christ Bible Baptist Church in Ajaltoun, near Beirut. The doors and windows were broken, computer and sound equipment was stolen, and nearby car tyres were slashed. One witness stated that police were watching the proceedings and giving advice on what to steal and vandalize. The church was then officially sealed off after the attack, so that no one could re-enter the building.

“Christians in the Middle East are so few that we need each other,” said Baptist pastor Raymond Abou-Mekhael. “We need to support each other. It's really too bad what has happened, because we were preparing the building to help host refugees from the south.”

Maronite Bishop, Guy-Paul Noujaim, has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Baptist church, denying that there are any Baptists in the region and publicly accusing the church of breaking the law. Culturally, it is customary for the bishop to be consulted before any new church is opened within his region. A source close to the Maronite Church said, “All it would take is one word from the bishop for the [Baptist church] to be opened. But they've never had a Protestant Reformation in the Middle East, so they don't know quite what to do with these new evangelical groups.” [ Tears of the Oppressed ]

Russia

Religious bodies in Russia seem likely to be more restricted soon in their normal activities, especially missionary work and evangelism. In August the Ministry of Justice informed registered religious bodies of a draft law 'On the amendments to some federal laws aimed against illegal missionary activities'. The proposed law

contravenes the Russian Constitution as well as international treaties guaranteeing people the right to share their religious views and act in accordance with them. Even humanitarian work in the name of Christ would be outlawed. The draft legislation is due to go to the Russian parliament before the end of this year. If enacted the law would especially threaten churches for whom outreach and evangelism is basic in their activities. Please pray that the advocacy of believers, lawyers and others will succeed in getting the oppressive nature of the proposed law changed. [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty ]

Iraq

Father Saad Sirop, priest of St Jacob's parish in Doura, Baghdad, was taken from a car on August 17. A Chaldean Catholic, Sirop was on his way home from celebrating mass at 6.30am, when three masked men forced him into their car at gunpoint. Father Sirop's driver was left unhurt.

Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, Louis Sako, has publicly called for the release of the priest, stating Sirop was a good man who preached and practiced love and peace. The Archbishop said that there are two likely reasons for the kidnapping—firstly money, and secondly, “they want to push Christians out of Iraq”. He said that Doura was a majority Sunni Muslim area with a significant minority of 3,000 Christians. He said that Sunnis from other areas are moving in, looking to take possession of Christians' homes.

Sirop is the second Chaldean Catholic priest to be kidnapped in Baghdad in August. Father Raad Kashan of Battawin district was also abducted by a group seeking a ransom. This priest spent three days in captivity until he was released in return for promising money. However, he immediately fled the country to avoid paying the ransom and further attacks.

Violence within Iraq is taking a serious toll on the Christian community. Thousands of Christians have fled Iraq since the American 'liberation'. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in October 2005 that out of 700,000 Iraqis who took refuge in Syria alone, 36% were Iraqi Christians. [ Tears of the Oppressed]

Iran

On 24 August, Issa Motamedi Mojdehi was released on bail and reunited with his family. His case is still open. Iran 's Ministry of Interior is run by former leaders in  Iran 's dreaded Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) secret police in the blood-soaked, post-revolution purge years. The Deputy Minister of Interior, Mahmoud Saeedi, was the MOIS director who oversaw the brutal murders of three Iranian Church leaders in 1994 and 1995. While Iranian Christian leaders are facing increased risk of imprisonment and murder, Christians in general are being systematically driven into unemployment and hardship in what appears to be a government strategy to drive them from the country. While praising God for his release, please keep praying for Issa, his wife Parvah, their daughter Martha (8) and infant son Micah. [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty ]

China

A journalist named Zan Aizong (37) was arrested for publishing on overseas websites the news of the church demolition and subsequent arrests of church leaders and members. Whilst 10 of the believers detained at the time of the demolition have been released, six of the church leaders have been formally arrested, accused of 'resisting the carrying-out of the law by instigating violence.

In a separate incident on 15 August, around a dozen Chinese security agents snatched one of China's top Christian human  rights lawyers, Gao Zhisheng, from his sister's home to an unknown location.. Four Chinese missionaries (two men and two women) working in Yunan Province were recently arrested for 'superstitious activity' and then tortured for six hours before being released. Their belongings were confiscated and the missionaries were left in such pain they could hardly walk out  of the National Security Guard office. They told CAA they thought they would not survive the interrogation. Please pray for Gao  Zhisheng and his family; for the tortured missionaries - Xing Baoying, Wang Guizhen, Henan Li Jianying and Li Tuying; and for all who are presently suffering in China. [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty ]

Philippines

Serious allegations that church workers in the Philippines are being targeted by government forces have emerged in a new report released in August.

The Uniting Church of Australia, in conjunction with sister church, United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), has documented the cases of several Christians who have been murdered in the past two years. All those targeted have spoken out against social injustice in their local communities. The Philippines government has done little to investigate the crimes or bring the perpetrators to justice.

Among the victims was Abe Songit, 42, an indigenous leader in Palawan and active in community development projects. He was also an active lay leader in the UCCP church in Ladayon, Quezon. He had exposed human rights violations committed by police and military forces against local people, and was shot by unidentified gunmen in February 2005.

Rev. Edison Lapuz was shot on 12 May 2005. In addition to his pastoral role with the UCCP, he was the convenor of a civil liberties group in Tacloban city. He was working with lawyers to find legal solutions to the murders and disappearances occurring in the region.

Joel Barrameda Bacleo, 40, a lay preacher and coordinator of disaster relief services. He was very involved in social justice issues and was also a staunch opponent of the militarization of Albay province. He was shot at his home by an unidentified gunman in 2004.

In another case, Juancho Sanchez, 20, was shot and killed by police while serving water to striking workers at the Hacienda Luisita plantation in 2004. The plantation was owned by the family of former president Corazon Aquino. Sanchez was the son of a UCCP minister and active in the Christian youth fellowship.

The report, called “Getting Away With Murder” concludes: “It would appear that the acts of violence and human rights abuses against ordinary Christians undertaking the traditional and Apostolic ministry of pastoral care and advocacy for the poor and marginalised is part of a wider culture of corruption and violent oppression in the Philippines at large.” [ Tears of the Oppressed ]

Malaysia

A pending court case is to decide whether Malaysian Muslims have the Constitutional right to change their religion without the permission of a Sharia (Islamic) Court.. The plaintiff, Lina Joy, converted from Islam 16 years ago and wants to be legally recognised as a Christian. Lina is engaged to a Christian, but in Malaysia a Muslim woman is compelled by law to marry a Muslim. Lina has now been forced into hiding by the threats of Islamic extremists to hunt her down and kill her. Lina's fiance also has been threatened. Meanwhile posters, emails and mobile phone messages are circulating there calling for the death of a human rights lawyer and leading religious freedom activist, Malik Sarwar, a Muslim and member of the Malaysian Bar Council. Please pray for him as well as for Lina Joy, her fiance, her advocates and the judges deciding her case. [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty ]

 

30 July 2006

Somalia

Mogadishu has fallen to Islamists who are striving to control all of Somalia and bring it under Sharia Law. On 20 July Ethiopian troops crossed into Somalia to defend the powerless UN, AU and IGAD-backed Transitional Federal Government based in the provincial town of Baidoa. Since capturing Mogadishu the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) has declared jihad (Islamic holy war) and positioned its militias around Baidoa. Whilst Ethiopia, a mostly Christian country, has a superior fighting force, Eritrea is offering support to the Somali Islamists. Presently in a standoff, Ethiopia and the ICU are on the verge of war. Flames of Islamic zeal and identity will be fanned by this situation, putting Somali Christians at even greater immediate risk. [WEA]

India

On 25 June four nuns (all aged about 35) from Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity were conducting their weekly hospital visitation in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. They were ministering to terminal AIDS patients when some 50 Hindu militants attacked them supposedly for trying to convert patients. The sisters have been ministering there for more then 20 years with government and hospital permission. They were arrested but later released after intervention.

On 6 July in Kota district, Rajasthan, Hindu militants attacked Emmanuel Mission's orphanage, harassing and terrifying the girls and setting part of the building on fire. On 16 July lay pastor Om Prakash Pandey was arrested without charge in Uttar Pradesh as he led worship. He was then beaten in the police station by the Police Inspector and others before being released. On 17 July some 20 Hindu extremists attacked three Christians, Daniel (17), Manju (21), and Umesh (27) of the Harvest Full Gospel Church as they ministered to hospital patients in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The assailants then took them to the police station and had them arrested for distributing Christian literature. They were released on bail on 22 July. Also on 17 July Hindu extremists in Baglkote, Karnataka, beat four students of the Gospel for Asia Bible College in Bijapur who were distributing Christian literature. In Madhya Pradesh the BJP-led state government has amended the anti-conversion law to make it even more stringent. Please pray for God's intervention in India. [WEA]

Democratic Republic of Congo

Amnesty International has condemned as flagrantly unfair a trial by military tribunal that resulted on 16 June in heavy prison sentences against evangelical church leader Pasteur Fernando Kutino, his colleague, Pasteur Timothée Bompere, and a third man, Junior Nganda. AI considers that Pasteur Kutino and his co-defendants, who were accused of illegal possession of firearms, criminal conspiracy and attempted murder, were deprived of their right to a fair hearing by a competent, independent and impartial court of law, the trial by military tribunal was summary and some of the evidence presented by the prosecutor against the accused was extracted under torture. AI is calling for the verdicts in this case to be set aside.

Bhutan

According to reliable sources inside Bhutan, brothers Benjamin and John Dai, after showing the Jesus video in a non-believer's home, were arrested on 8 January 2006 when a boy present informed the police. In June, Benjamin received a prison sentence of three-and-a-half years, while John was sentenced to three years. They were given ten days to appeal to the court for bail and then fight the case against them with the help of a prominent lawyer.

Historically Bhutan has been an isolated Buddhist kingdom with Mahayana Buddhism as the state religion. Bhutan was closed to Christians until 1965, but then a relaxation of isolationist policies enabled witness through foreign, predominantly Indian, Christian NGOs. However objections to Church growth led to tightening restrictions and through the 1990s Bhutanese Christians were increasingly persecuted. In theory the law permits religious freedom but the reality has been quite different. Christianity is severely regulated and Christians may not build churches or gather together freely. Proselytism by non-Buddhists is illegal as is religious conversion from Buddhism. There has also been widespread ethnic cleansing of the Hindu Nepalis. (WEA)

China

The arrested religious leader of South China Church, Gong Shengliang was beaten again in Hong Shan prison, Wuhan, Hubei Province. The right side of Gong's face is still swollen. According to his sister, Gong could not move his mouth for three days, and he suffered some hearing loss in his right ear.

On 29 June, the Zhongmu City People's Court sentenced house-schurch patriarch Pastor Zhang Rongliang (55) to seven-and-a-half years in prison. Pastor Zhang has serious diabetes and high blood pressure. He has been imprisoned several times for a total of 12 years and has endured harsh treatment including electric shock torture. On 14 July prominent house-church leader Pastor Wang Jinhua was arrested along with her husband Mr Xu Jinfu and their eight-year-old son Xu Enze from their home in Jilin City, Jilin Province. Whilst Mr Xu and his son were later released, Pastor Wang Jinhua was transfered to Baishan Prison. These are only two of a continual stream of pastors being harassed and imprisoned. Please pray for God to protect, sustain, build and strengthen his Church, and bring justice and liberty to China [WEA Religious Liberty]

Meanwhile, 28 Christians were arrested during a Christian service at a home at Xiguan Ma Jia Chang, Fugou County. The gathering was raided and 28 church members were taken to the police station. Twenty-three were released later that evening. One Christian lady, 59-year-old Ms. Liu Yuemei, was released on June 1, after her family was forced to pay a fine of 1600 Yuan (US $200). Another lady, 35-year-old Ms. Chang Xinhong, was released June 8, after she promised to pay her fine in cash. [ Tears of the Oppressed ]

Calling it a crime against humanity, a new report says China is harvesting vital organs from devotees of the outlawed Falun Gong movement. Hearts, kidneys, livers and corneas are removed from executed practitioners and sold for transplantation at hefty prices, sometimes to foreigners, concludes the report. Winnipeg human rights lawyer David Matas and former Liberal cabinet minister David Kilgour undertook a two-month investigation, as unpaid volunteers at the request of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, a Washington-based organization with a branch in Ottawa. Kilgour and Matas insist their research was conducted independently of the coalition and any other organization or government. [ Yahoo Online ]

Nigeria

A teenage girl has been lynched by Muslim youths in a village in central Nigeria for allegedly dropping a "blasphemous" document in a mosque. Police initially intervened, locking the girl up in a cell for her own protection, but a mob then overpowered policemen at the station and killed her. There have also been reports of Christian preachers being attacked after sermonising in public places in Muslim-dominated parts of northern Nigeria. [ SBS 12/7]

18 May 2006

India

Rev Dr Samuel Thomas, president of the Emmanuel Mission International, was released from the Kota Central Jail on 2 May after the Rajasthan High Court granted him interim bail for three months. Dr Thomas will re-appear in Rajasthan High Court on 1 August. The Supreme Court had previously granted anticipatory bail to his father, EMI founder Archbishop M.A. Thomas. The elder Thomas has been in hiding since authorities issued an arrest warrant for him in a Hindu extremist-backed attack on his ministry. [Compass Direct]

Sri Lanka

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU or National Heritage Party) is a political party of right-wing Buddhist monks whose agenda is to turn Sri Lanka into a Buddhist state with Buddhism as the official state religion and conversions out of Buddhism banned. They describe Christianity as foreign, aggressive and a threat to social harmony. They also oppose federalism and autonomy for Tamils. In September 2005 the JHU signed a quid pro quo deal with the then presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse. Rajapakse then won a narrow victory in the November 2005 presidential elections after the Tamils in LTTE-controlled areas boycotted the elections (LTTE: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.)

In August 2004 Sri Lanka 's Supreme Court ruled that parts of proposed anti-conversion legislation needed to be amended. In May 2005 an amended draft was tentatively approved. However, the continued Tsunami redevelopment effort, the presidential elections and the subsequent breakdown in peace negotiations with LTTE kept the anti-conversion legislation on the back-burner. On 5 April 2006 Sri Lanka 's parliament appointed a 19-member committee to review the anti-conversion legislation again so it can be presented to the parliament for a final vote. The draft Bill on Prohibition of Forcible Conversion calls for prison sentences of up to five years and/or a fine for anyone found guilty of converting others 'by force or by allurement or by any fraudulent means'. The definition of these terms ensures all conversions may be deemed illegal.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Christian minority continues to face anti-Christian protests and violence from militant Buddhist nationalists. On Sundays 9 and 16 April a Methodist church in Piliyandala, southeast of Colombo, was beset with angry anti-Christian protest rallies. Then on Sundays 23 and 30 April the protesters turned to violence. Only police intervention prevented serious damage or injury. Compass Direct (CD) reports an Assembly of God church in Piliyandala also is facing intense opposition. On Saturday 6 May the pastor of the United Christian Fellowship in Poddala, Galle district, was threatened. The pastor and a construction worker were building a community hall on land they had purchased. The mob assaulted the construction worker and threatened to torch the hall if construction continued.

Please pray that the parliament will reject communal politics and uphold religious freedom. Pray also for the persecuted Sri Lankan Church which faces a persistent

barrage of protest and violence from Buddhist nationalists, usually led by militant monks. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is one of the world's most severe abusers of religious liberty. The Central Asian state is 92% Muslim and is ruled with repressive authoritarianism. The government exerts a pervasive control over the tiny Protestant minority who face immense obstacles even in just meeting together. Protestants may not share their faith, or print or import Christian literature and desperately need Bibles.

The authorities harass and persecute the churches. On Wednesday 3 May, some 15 secret police and security officials raided the Protestant Soygi Church in the capital, Ashgabat. They interrogated and videotaped the believers, and confiscated their belongings. The believers are anxious and have requested prayer. Please pray for the Church in Turkmenistan, for the provision of Bibles, and for freedom of worship. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

Afghanistan and Iraq

On May 3, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) announced its 2006 recommendations to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs. The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) requires that the United States designate as CPCs those countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. The Commission's recommendations for CPC designation for 2006 are: Burma, Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( North Korea ), Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Afghanistan has been added to the Commission's Watch List this year, joining Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, and Nigeria. Though not on the Watch List, the Commission is closely monitoring the situations in India, Russia and Sri Lanka, and it continues to be especially concerned about the situation in Iraq.

The USCIRF reported that in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the United States is directly engaged in political reconstruction, the universal right to religious freedom is imperilled. Only two months ago, a man faced execution in Afghanistan for exercising his right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. Charged with the “crime” of changing his religion, the case against him was eventually dismissed but concerns about his personal safety meant that he could no longer stay in Afghanistan. A few months before, an Afghan journalist who is also a Muslim scholar was imprisoned and threatened with death after being found guilty of blasphemy. His purported “crime” was to question the strict interpretation of some tenets of the majority religion in Afghanistan. In Iraq, an escalation in the level of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims threatens to halt political reconstruction. Targets of religiously motivated attacks also include secular Muslims, non-Muslim minorities, and women. The result is that many non-Muslim minorities are leaving Iraq, an exodus that may mean the end of the presence in Iraq of ancient Christian and other communities that have lived on those same lands for 2,000 years.

[See further article by al-Jazeera journalist: 'Violence robs Iraq of Christian heritage':
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AB5235D8-1578-4A92-BFEE-EA540BD2F5E2.htm ]

31 March 2006

Belarus

Pastor Georgi Vyazovsky of the Minsk-based Christ's Covenant Reformed Baptist Church had just served a ten-day prison sentence for leading illegal worship: some 20 people had been found 'reading the Bible, praying and singing hymns in his house' without the applicable government permission. Charges have  been also levelled against Pastor Sergei Tsvor, Pentecostal bishop of Minsk region and pastor of the registered 200-strong Minsk-based Good News Church. On 24 March police raided a Christian businessmen's seminar on ' A Biblical view of history' being held in a private cafe in  Minsk. Religious liberty lawyer Sergei Shavtsov was arrested for organising an illegal religious event. Shavtsov had applied for permission but it had been denied. He is serving ten days in  prison after being charged under the Code of Administrative Violations for 'carrying out unauthorised mass activities'.

President Lukashenko has been re-elected, and whilst courageous protesters continue to take to the streets, the police action against them is becoming increasingly violent.  Hundreds have been arrested. Pray for God's intervention, and that he will continue to build and sanctify his Church despite repression.   [ World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) - Religious Liberty ]

Afghanistan

Abdul Rahman was released from prison into the custody of his family on Monday March 27 after being deemed mentally unfit to stand trial on a charge of apostasy. He has arrived in Italy where he has been granted asylum, says Italy 's PM. "He is already in Italy. I think he arrived overnight," Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday, hours after his cabinet approved the asylum plea.

Mr Rahman, who converted 16 years ago while working as an aid worker for an international Christian group, was arrested after police discovered him with a Bible. An ethnic Tajik originally from the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, Mr Rahman returned to Afghanistan a few years ago. It is thought that he was denounced by relatives after returning to- Religious Liberty] seek custody of his two daughters. His family alleged he forced them to read the Bible, something he has denied. In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Mr Rahman said: "I have done nothing to repent, I respect Afghan law as I respect Islam. But I chose to become a Christian, for myself, for my soul. It is not an offence." [BBC News]

The case has highlighted ambiguities in Afghanistan 's constitution over the interpretation of religious issues. Conversion, or apostasy, is a crime under Afghanistan 's Islamic law. In Mazar-i-Sharif, clerics and students protested the decision to release Rahman. They marched shouting  'Death to Christians', 'Death to America ' and 'Death to the convert Abdul Rahman'. A Taliban council has issued a fatwa (religious decree) saying Abdul Rahman must be killed. 

There are believed to be some 10,000 Afghan Christians inside Afghanistan, many of whom are recent converts. It has been reported that since Rahman's case became public, two other  converts have been arrested, one other convert has been beaten and several more have been harassed and threatened. Pray for Abdul Rahman and the seriously threatened Afghan Church.  [WEA - Religious Liberty]

Indonesia

In February Indonesia 's Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to the charges against Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun. The panel of judges ruled that introducing Christianity to Muslim children is a crime under the Child Protection Act and that this ruling does not contradict Indonesia 's Constitution which guarantees religious freedom. The Court ruled that the women will remain in prison and serve their sentences. Then in March the review of Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB) No 1 1969, was completed. Many hoped this law, at the centre of the recent wave of persecution against churches, would be repealed. However the review has only worsened the situation. All groups meeting for worship must seek a permit from the local government. But to apply for a permit a church or house fellowship must have a minimum of 100 members and their plan should be approved by at least 70 local residents who are not Christians. This will be quite unattainable for small fellowships in staunchly Muslim districts.  

Thousands of people are still living in makeshift camps in Ambon, Indonesia, seven years after Muslim-Christian violence occurred in the region, according to a recent report in the Jakarta Post. 15,788 families are waiting to be sent back to their homes or relocated. In many cases, the refugees have been unable to access building materials and proper facilities that were earlier promised by the government. Instead, they have faced bureaucratic confusion. The provincial administration has repeatedly extended its own deadline for solving the refugee problem. The last deadline was January 31 this year, after failing to meet their December deadline a month earlier. [Tears of the Oppressed ]

West Papua

A Baptist Church minister in West Papua has claimed that members of the Indonesian military tortured a student and left him at a hospital where he died from his injuries. Reverand Socratez Sofyan Yoman claims authorities arrested the 25-year-old student last week. On March 16, a clash between protesters and security forces in the Papua province left three police and a military intelligence officer dead and 19 injured. The protesters had been calling for the closure of the US-run Freeport gold and copper mine in Papua.

Mr Yoman claims the student was arrested after the clash. "Police came, arrested him and tortured him and then cut his stomach and they brought him to hospital," he said. "He died in hospital. When I got the report from the hospital, we took his body and I buried him. Nobody came, his father and mother, his close family and relatives didn't come because they were very afraid." [ABC]

India

Rajasthan state police officers have arrested the Rev. Dr. Samuel Thomas, president of Emmanuel Mission International (EMI) and son of Archbishop M.A. Thomas, EMI's founder. The arrest took place in Noida, Uttar Pradesh state. Both Thomas and his father had gone underground after Hindu extremists accused them of distributing a controversial book that they alleged denigrated their religion and deities. Archbishop Thomas is still in hiding. Projects run by the ministry he founded — including orphanages, schools, and a hospital — have been targeted for closure by a wide array of Hindu extremists the past few months, including some who have offered a reward of $26,000 for the heads of the archbishop and his son.

Mohammad Akram, Thomas' attorney in Rajasthan, said the Kota district court had earlier rejected an anticipatory bail application for Thomas and his father. A bail petition for Archbishop Thomas will come up for hearing in the Rajasthan High Court on March 24, he said. Mansingh Chaudhary, station house officer of the Bhimgunj Mandi police station, registered an official complaint against Thomas, his father the archbishop, and a few other EMI staff members on February 14, under Section 153(a) and 295(a) of the Indian Penal Code. Section 153(a) deals with hurting religious sentiments, while Section 295(a) is for deliberately outraging religious feelings or insulting the religious beliefs of a community. Both offences are punishable with up to three years imprisonment.

Tensions began on January 25, when Archbishop Thomas and his son received anonymous death threats warning them not to hold the annual graduation ceremony for hundreds of orphans and Dalit Christian students scheduled for February 25. The ceremony was postponed in the wake of the threats and attacks. On February 2, a mob of Hindu extremists attacked an EMI orphanage in Tindole, resulting in the death of one child and the stoning and beatings of children, staff and local clergy. On February 10 in Ramganjmandi, a Hindu mob burned to the ground an EMI school and orphanage. On February 20, V.S. Thomas, officer in charge of the Hope Center Orphanage in Raipura, and R.S. Nair, mission chief operating officer, were detained without charges. [ WEA - Religious Liberty ]

3 February 2006

Uzbekistan

The religious intolerance and official control of all religious minorities including Christians has escalated since the May 2005 political uprising in Andijan. Ethnic Uzbek churches suffer most, being persecuted by the state authorities and Muslim nationalists. The Full Gospel Church 'Resurrection' in Andijan is continually persecuted, along with their pastor Bakhtier Tuichiev who was severely beaten at Christmas. He is convinced that a brutal assault he was subjected to, which left him unconscious and needing a week in hospital, was arranged by the Uzbek authorities. He thinks that this is the reason why the police do not want to open a criminal investigation. 'In early January I saw my attackers on the street and now I even know where they live. But the police don't even want to talk to me', he said.

A group of Christian lawyers in Taskent is helping believers speak out about persecution, and is working on getting the church 'Emmanuel' in Nukus, Karapalkastan, re-registered after its closure by the authorities. Charities with Christian workers are under pressure, with many being closed for no stated reason. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty/Forum 18]

Turkey

The case against Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk was dropped in January. The writer was facing charges under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code after commenting on the deaths of Kurds and Armenians in the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger. Sisli Court of First Instance No. 2 had been awaiting the authorization of the Ministry of Justice to proceed with the case, but reportedly threw it out after the Ministry wrote to the court declaring itself legally incompetent to intervene. [Amnesty International]

Iraq

Religious tensions are high in Iraq with most social groups and localities now polarised as majority Sunni or Shi'ite Muslim. This renders Iraqi Christians exposed and vulnerable. Tensions in Iraq have been further inflamed by an incident in far-away Scandinavia. Last year a Danish newspaper published 12 cartoons on Mohammad, causing a Muslim outcry. The cartoons recently reappeared in a Norwegian magazine. Now international Islamic bodies are provoking widespread Islamic agitation. On Friday 27 January, Muslims in Baghdad angrily demonstrated against 'the attack on Islam' and issued threats against Iraqi non-Muslims. The following Sunday, car bombs exploded outside two churches in Kirkuk, killing three, and outside two churches and the Vatican embassy in Baghdad. Many were injured.

An Assyrian source reports several Assyrian Christian university students in Mosul were beaten by angry Muslims. Please pray for Iraqi Christians. [World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty]

China

Pastor Cai Zhuohua and two other Christians found guilty of 'illegal business practices' have dropped plans to appeal their conviction. Cai, his wife Xiao Yunfei, and his brother-in-law Xiao Gaowen were arrested last year following a raid on a church warehouse containing 237,000 privately printed copies of the Bible and Christian literature. Although there was no evidence to suggest they were distributing the books for profit, the defendants were tried in July and sentenced on November 8 to three years, two years and 18 months respectively. Cai's sister-in-law, Hu Jinyun, was also arrested but escaped penalty for providing evidence to police against Xiao Yunfei. It is hoped she will be released following the completion of legal paperwork. [Tears of the Oppressed]

Iran

Colonel Hamid Pourmand, who has spent 15 months in prison since his arrest at an Assemblies of God conference in Iran in 2004, is reportedly now on good terms with both prisoners and prison authorities in Evin Prison. Pourmand, who left Islam for Christianity some 25 years ago, is serving time for deceiving the military about his religion - despite ample evidence suggesting his superiors knew he was a Christian. After international pressure, the further charge of apostasy, which carries the death penalty, was dropped.

Although Hamid has not been physically abused in prison, he has endured periods of solitary confinement, and has also been subject to psychological torture in custody. Guards have told him several times to pack up his clothes because he is going to be hanged, and at other times he was forced to listen to the screams of children. Hamid's lawyer hopes the Iranian government will grant his client amnesty, either on the anniversary of the Islamic revolution (February 11), or during the Iranian new year festivities (March 20) next year. [Tears of the Oppressed]