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Discrimination

• Community Members Pressured to Reject Christians

  

  Two separate incidents that recently took place in Chengdu, the capital of the Chinese province of Sichuan, demonstrate the effectiveness of the Chinese Communist Party authorities in dividing communities to bring about harassment of Christians and, in particular, members of the Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC). The first incident involved the wedding of a congregation member from the church.

• Evicted Church Warned to Stop Parking Lot Meetings

  

  Since purchasing a former cowshed in 2002 and converting it into a church building, the New Life Church in Minsk, Belarus, has faced opposition from government agencies. After years of court battles, officials accompanied by bailiffs forcefully entered the place of worship on February 17th, 2021, evicting church members from the building. For more information on the eviction, including a video clip, go to this report.

• Legalization of More Churches

  

  Until 2016, it was nearly impossible for churches in Egypt to obtain the required licensing to build or restore a building for worship. As a result, many structures were built without a license. With the passing of legislation in September 2016, a government committee was established to work through the large number of applications that were submitted for the legalization of unlicensed church buildings. Although the committee received 3,730 applications, and officially began the approval procedures a year later, the process has been exceedingly slow. See this report for further coverage of this situation.

• Three Elderly Pastors Arrested

  

  Three semi-retired pastors in the Eritrean capital of Asmara were arrested towards the latter part of July. Since they were all over 70 years old, and only occasionally conducted funeral or wedding services, it is unclear why these elderly Christian men had been targeted for arrest.

• Young Victim’s Funeral Raided by Perpetrators

  

  On July 27th, Celina Ishaku's son was murdered by Fulani militants, the same group that had killed her husband two years earlier. The next day, friends and family gathered to bury the boy. Rather than allow those at the funeral to grieve in peace, however, the assailants attacked the community once again, raiding the service and shooting at the mourners. Along with the destruction of ten homes and multiple farms, three youths were killed in the ambush.

• Christian Medical Worker Forced to Decline Promotion

  

  In recent months, a number of healthcare workers in Pakistan have faced opposition because of their Christian faith. In April, two nurses were charged with blasphemy after following instructions from their supervisor (see this report). In another instance, a nurse was accused of blasphemy by her co-workers for no apparent reason and subjected to abuse (read more). The latest reported case involves a Christian man who had been threatened and assaulted after receiving a promotion to a leadership position at his place of employment.

• Three Churches Sealed for Closure

  

  On July 7th, three more church buildings were sealed by Algerian authorities. These recent closures are part of the government's campaign, which was launched in 2017, to shut down Christian places of worship. This latest incident brings the total number of sealed churches to 16. For details on the previous closures, go to the country report.

• Christian Sentenced for Allegedly Accepting Donations

  

  "Ahmed" (not his real name due to security concerns) knows well the cost of following Christ. When the Algerian man became a Christian in April 2013, his wife began seeing positive changes in his life. As a result, three months later, she also professed her faith in Christ.

• Government Advisor Beaten and Threatened

  

  Masked gunmen attacked a government religious affairs worker on the night of July 2nd, threatening to kill him for supporting the return of church properties to Christian communities. Botrous Badawi, a Christian and advisor to the minister of Sudan's Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, was travelling south of Khartoum when a group of bandits forced his vehicle to stop. Armed with assault rifles, they beat him and threatened to kill him if he continued to advocate for the return of a property that was confiscated from the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church.

• Believer's Family Escapes into Exile

  

  A Christian believer in Saudi Arabia, who was identified in previous Persecution & Prayer Alert reports as "A" or "Adam," has been sentenced with a large fine for allegedly attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity, as well as assisting his sister to flee the country. The accused believer was given 30 days to pay the fine unless an appeal was granted. (For more details about this situation, see this page.)