Tags

harrassment

• Pastoral Couple Arrested Due to ''Forcible Conversion'' Allegations

  

  Karnataka became the latest Indian state to officially pass anti-conversion legislation after the state's governor signed the law into effect on May 17th. On that same day, members of the Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal filed a complaint against Pastor V. Kuriyachan and his wife Selenamma, alleging that they have illegally converted more than 1,000 Hindus from the Yerava tribal community by visiting the area's coffee plantations.

• Christians Penalized for Not Participating in Festival

  

  For the fourth consecutive year, Christians from the Alpha and Omega Presbyterian Church in Nueva las Tacitas, Chiapas State, are being forced to participate in a religious festival or face fines from village leaders. Every year, the people of the area celebrate the Santa Cruz Festival on May 3rd. This festival is part of syncretistic religious beliefs, involving a combination of Roman Catholicism and traditional tribal religions.

• Pastor Sentenced for Allegedly ''Disturbing the Peace''

  

  On April 3rd, members of a church in Gezira State, Sudan, were beginning to gather together for worship when Islamic militants prevented the believers from entering the building. The Christians were, however, able to assemble in the yard outside the building for prayer. When the believers attempted to gather for worship the following week, the attackers again disrupted the worship service. During the second incident, Pastor Estefanos was struck by the militants and then dragged from the building where he was further beaten. Three Christian women were also injured during the attack.

• State Officials Interrupt Worship Service

  

  Worshippers at a Catholic church in Vu Ban, a rural district in northwestern Vietnam, were shocked when two governing officials rushed into the sanctuary on February 20th, interrupting a Sunday Mass being celebrated by the archbishop from Hanoi. Wearing helmets, the officials shouted loudly before taking the microphone and demanding that everyone disperse immediately, or "appropriate measures" would be taken. One of the officials was identified by witnesses as the head of the local branch of the Communist Party.

• Christians Ordered to Cease Worship

  

  On March 6th, a large mob forced their way into the Mercy Gate Chapel in Amalgama, Sri Lanka, demanding that all religious activities cease immediately. Thankfully, police were able to disperse the crowd without further incident, though Buddhist monks continued to declare that the place of worship was not a legitimate church. (See this page for more details.)

• Mob Demanded Christians to Stop Worship

  

  In the late afternoon of Sunday, March 6th, a large mob consisting of approximately 600 people, including about 60 Buddhist monks, forced their way into the Mercy Gate Chapel in Amalgama, Sri Lanka. The mob demanded that all religious activities of the church cease immediately and mandated the place of worship be closed. The aggressors also threatened the life of the pastor if he continued to lead worship services. In the midst of the confrontation, one of the church members was injured but released from hospital the next day.

• Religious Worshippers Monitored and Fined

  

  Since the beginning of 2021, at least 20 cases have gone to court in Kazakhstan for holding religious meetings without state permission. The fines brought against them varied from three weeks' to four months' average wages. Amendments are also presently in the works to further tighten certain religious restrictions in the country.

• 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.

• Preacher's Family Locked in Their Home

  

  Members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Sichuan, China, continue to face harassment as authorities attempt to shut down their unregistered church. While the head pastor, Wang Yi, is serving a nine-year prison sentence, other members of the church have also encountered consistent persecution.

• Raids Against Banned Churches

  

  In May 2019, local authorities informed the Xunsiding Church in Xiamen, China, that they intended to officially close it down. Church members were threatened with the loss of their jobs unless they complied and, on May 19th, dozens of officers, including those of SWAT teams, raided the church service. In the following days, officers remained on site to ensure no one re-entered the facility (see this report for further details).