US commission calls for Iranian Christians’ release after “new miscarriage of justice”
World Watch Monitor From left: Saheb Fadaie, Youcef Nadarkhani, Yasser Mossayebzadeh and Mohammad Reza Omidi. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of an Iranian pastor and three of his church members, after they were taken to prison last week to serve 10 year sentences for “acting against national […]
Couple deported from Nepal for “converting Hindus into Christians”
World Watch Monitor A Christian couple have been deported from Nepal after they were accused of proselytism, a criminal offence in the country, reports national newspaper The Himalayan Times. De Vera Richard, from the Philippines, and his Indonesian wife Rita Gonga had been staying in Nepal on business visas and were running a restaurant, but were […]
Foreign Christian students targeted by Russia’s security services
World Watch Monitor Foreign students of Pentecostal churches in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region have become a particular target for the authorities under the so-called “anti-missionary” law introduced two years ago, Forum 18 reports. The vague definition of “missionary activity” in the law, officially titled the Yarovaya Law after one of its authors, has meant that law enforcement authorities could understand “virtually […]
Indian state’s ‘anti-conversion law’ to be repealed
World Watch Monitor Christian groups have welcomed a surprise announcement by a nationalist chief minister of a state in north-east India that he will ensure that a law preventing conversions from one faith to another is repealed. Pema Khandu, a Buddhist who heads the nationalist BJP-led state government in Arunachal Pradesh, told an audience of […]
Four-year sentence for Indonesian pastor who evangelised a taxi driver
World Watch Monitor A Protestant pastor has been sentenced to four years in prison for religious defamation after discussing Christianity with a Muslim taxi driver in Indonesia, the Jakarta Post reports. The Tangerang District Court in Banten also ordered Rev Abraham Ben Moses, 52, pay a fine of 50 million rupiah ($US3,565) or spend one additional month […]
Russia’s religious communities face ‘unclear’ requirements
World Watch Monitor Legal requirements applied to the expression of freedom of religion in Russia impose a significant burden on religious communities not recognised by the state – in the shape of fines, legal costs and bureaucracy – reports regional news agency Forum 18. The requirements are “unclear” and applied “inconsistently”, Forum 18 says, and are […]
Assistant of pastor who helped North Korean defectors sentenced to 15 years in labour camp
World Watch Monitor New evidence has shed more light on the murder of a Korean-Chinese pastor who helped North Korean refugees as one of his deacons was sentenced to 15 years hard labour. Pastor Han Choong Yeol, well-known for helping North Korean defectors in his church in the border town of Chiangbai, was found dead on 30th […]
Indian Christians charged with ‘hurting religious sentiments’ by handing out Easter tracts
World Watch Monitor Four Christians, including the wife of a church leader, have been charged with “hurting religious sentiments” after they handed out Christian tracts during an Easter procession in India’s southern Telangana state. Rayapuri Jyothi, 38, Meena Kumari, 52, Mahima Kumari, 35 and Bagadam Sudhakar, 45, were taken into custody by police in the […]
Algerian church closed for ‘illegally printing Bibles and material intended for evangelism’
World Watch Monitor A church in Algeria’s north-western town of Aïn Turk has been closed down by local authorities. The church, affiliated to the Protestant Church of Algeria (known as EPA, its French acronym), was sealed off by police on 9th November. Authorities in Oran claimed the church had been used to “illegally print Gospels […]
Nepali Christians freed nine months after conviction for ‘witchcraft’ of praying for mentally ill woman
World Watch Monitor Four Nepali Christians sentenced last year to five years in prison for “violence and witchcraft”, after praying for a mentally ill woman, have been released after their sentences were overturned. In a statement, the Federation of National Christians Nepal (FNCN), thanked the court for “setting free our innocent people”, and said it […]