Tags

Prison

• Christian Couple Acquitted of Blasphemy

  

  After seven years on death row, Shafqat Emmanuel and his wife Shagufta Kausar were cleared of all charges against them by a Pakistani court on June 3rd, 2021. They were convicted on April 4th, 2014, after being accused of sending "blasphemous" text messages. The texts were allegedly sent from Shagufta's phone, which had gone missing a month prior and was never recovered. Furthermore, as the couple are illiterate, they would not have been able to send the alleged texts. (See this page for more details on the original conviction.)

• Pastor's Life Threatened by Government Official

  

  The Living Stone Church in Guiyang City has faced repeated persecution from Chinese authorities. Imprisoned on December 9th, 2015, Pastor Yang Hua suffered mistreatment until his release in June 2018 (see this report). After his release, he continued to serve the church despite ongoing opposition. Another pastor of the church, Su Tianfu, was imprisoned in May 2018 for one year and then served six months of house arrest.

• Christians Detained and Questioned

  

  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.

• Detained Pastor Confirmed Alive and Released

  

  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.)

• Christian Man Tortured Into False Confession

  

  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).

• Death Threats Against Released Christian Teen

  

  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.

• Christian Acquitted from One of Three Charges

  

  Last month, a report was released about a convert, referred to only as "A," who faced various charges after speaking openly about his Christian faith in Saudi Arabia (for more details on this situation, go to this report). He was charged with trying to convert Muslims to Christianity and for assisting his sister to flee the country because of her faith. He was also accused by an opposing relative of stealing money.

• Recently Arrested Christian Prisoners Released

  

  Earlier this month, it was reported that 23 women had been arrested at a prayer meeting in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, along with 12 others in the city of Assab. (To review a previously posted report, go to our country report, where there is also a link to a video-recorded interview addressing these recent incidents.) In a surprising move, all but one of the Christians arrested in Asmara were released on April 11th. Typically, believers who have been arrested in Eritrea are held without charges against them, and not permitted any legal representation, for extended periods of time --- sometimes many years.

• Appeal Postponed Relating to Distribution of Christian Literature

  

  On February 27th, Pastor Rachid Seighir and Nouh Hamimi were sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly "shaking the faith" of Muslims through the Christian literature being sold in their bookstore (read more). The charges follow a raid on the Algerian church-run bookstore in September 2017.

   

• 35 New Arrests

  

  In recent months, we joyfully shared the good news that dozens of Christians had been released from prisons in Eritrea (see our country report). However, any hopes that the string of releases signalled a change of heart towards Christians in the oppressive regime were dashed when 35 believers were arrested for conducting prayer meetings in late March.