Four Christian men were detained on April 19th in separate raids throughout Dezful in southwestern Iran. They have been identified as Ismail Narimanpour, Mohammad Ali Torabi, Alireza Vark Shah and Hojjat Lotfi Khalaf.
On March 15th, 2020, Pastor Sithong Theppavong was approached by authorities who demanded that he agree to no longer hold worship services at a small church in Savannakhet Province, Laos (see this report). When Pastor Sithong refused, he was arrested without charge. Earlier this spring, those familiar with his situation were concerned that he was no longer alive since there had been no news of his whereabouts. (To read this previously posted report, visit this page.)
On February 13th, Haroon Ayub Masih and his friend Salamat Mansha Masih were accused of blasphemy after reading the Bible out loud at a public park in Lahore, Pakistan, and then offering a Christian book to a Muslim man. Haroon and his family escaped into hiding, but Salamat was arrested (read more).
On March 1st, Nabeel Masih's lawyer successfully argued that there was no evidence of blasphemy committed by the teenage Christian, resulting in his release from a prison in Pakistan on March 18th (read more). He was then swiftly taken into hiding for his protection from militant crowds demanding his death.