Tags

Prison

• Pastor Released After Four Years in Prison

  

  On September 18th, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom announced that Pastor A. Dao had been released from prison after being incarcerated for over four years. This decision came 11 months before his expected release.

• Update on John Cao

  

  In a recent letter from prison, Pastor John Cao was able to report that he is in good health and his blood pressure is now normal. While missing family and friends around the world, he asked his mother to pass along greetings, stating that he has not stopped interceding for the health, peace and faith of others.

• 31 Christian Prisoners Released

  

  The Eritrean government has released 31 Christians from Mai Serwa prison who were detained without charge or trial for years. It is believed there were 21 men and 10 women in this group, and that none of them were church leaders. At least two of the women were minors when first imprisoned -- one was only 12 years old (age 28 today); and the other was 16 (now 30). This action follows the release of 22 Methodist Christians from another prison in July.

• Zafar Bhatti Recovers from Heart Attack in Prison

  

  Zafar Bhatti has been in prison since 2012 after being charged with sending blasphemous text messages. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017. Diagnosed with diabetes, the 56-year-old Christian had two minor heart attacks in 2019 and suffers from eyesight problems. It was recently reported that he had another heart attack on September 3rd. Though he received swift medical attention in prison, there are ongoing concerns for his physical and mental health, as well as apprehension over the medical care he is receiving outside of the hospital setting.

• Close Monitoring of Pastor's Wife and Son

  

  Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Covenant Church is presently serving a nine-year prison sentence. He was arrested, along with his wife, in December 2018. While Pastor Wang's wife, Jiang Rong, was released on bail, the authorities have barred her from interacting with family, friends, and church members. She is being constantly monitored by security agents and essentially has no freedom of movement.

• Video Visit for John Cao

  

  In March 2017, Cao San-Qiang (John Cao) was detained and accused of "organizing illegal border crossings" between Myanmar and China. Pastor Cao, who is married to an American citizen, has been a long-time resident of North Carolina. Well known for his humanitarian work among the poor in Myanmar's Wa State, he has built 16 schools that serve 2,000 impoverished children.

• Man Charged with Blasphemy

  

  A Christian man was beaten and charged with blasphemy on August 5th, following comments made on his Facebook account about the Islamic celebration of Lailat al Miraj. The celebration involves eating sacrificial meat. In response, Sohail Masih allegedly posted: "It is not possible that the blood of goats and bulls can wash away sins. The incident of Miraj is based on a lie." The post came to the attention of a mosque leader, who claimed that "Muslims were extremely hurt" by the comment.

• Pastor Finally Released on Bail

  

  Pastor Keshav Raj Acharya was finally released on bail in late June after spending three months in prison. Sources state that the bail amount was exorbitant, considering the charges against him.

  Pastor Keshav was first arrested on March 23rd, after a video was uploaded to YouTube in which he allegedly stated that God could heal COVID-19 through prayer. Despite denying that he uploaded the video, Pastor Keshav was arrested after being asked to pray for a woman who had contracted the virus. He was then charged with spreading false information and misleading his followers.

• Thirty Christians Arrested at Wedding

  

  Eritrean authorities continued their ongoing crackdown on unregistered religious groups when 30 guests were arrested at a wedding ceremony in late June. These Christians were arrested in the capital city of Asmara, joining 15 others who had been previously arrested in April and sent to a prison camp.

• Appeal Decisions for Ismaeil Maghrebinejad

  

  In January 2019, Ismaeil Maghrebinejad, 65, was arrested and has since faced multiple charges and convictions, which he has appealed. Originally convicted of "membership of a group hostile to the regime" and "insulting Islamic sacred beliefs," he was further convicted of "propaganda against the state" in May 2020 (read more).