According to a March 11 report from Compass Direct, officials in Laos arrested 15 Hmong Christian families in the Bokeo district on February 22, a day before a court sentenced nine area Hmong church leaders to 15 years in prison for conducting Christian ministry and meetings that had grown beyond acceptable levels for communist officials. The day before the sentencing, Laotian authorities arrived in Ban Sai Jarern village in Bokeo district with six trucks in which they hauled away eight Christian families. Authorities also arrested at least seven families from Fai village three miles away. "It seems they are rounding up all Hmong Christians from Vietnam to send them back to Vietnam," one Christian source told Compass Direct. "What will happen to them is greatly feared and unknown." In total, 58 Hmong Christians were arrested.
The nine church leaders sentenced for conducting prominent Christian ministry and meetings had been rounded up during a police and military sweep of
suspected rebels last July that left at least 13 innocent Christians dead.
Pray that those detained will be released. Pray that the nine church leaders who are in prison will know God's strength at this time and that their imprisonment will result in the advancement of God's kingdom (Philippians 1:12-14). Pray God will fill the heart of the Laotian believers with peace beyond comprehension as they bring their needs to the Lord and rejoice in Him (Philippians 4:4-7).
Find out more information on the persecution of Christians in Laos, go to the Laos Country Report.
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