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2017-10-26

• Kidnapped Pastor's Daughter Located!

  

  On October 16th, the teenage daughter of a pastor was kidnapped in southeastern Niger. Security forces were alerted at the time of the incident and the 17-year-old, Aphodiya Garba Maida, was thankfully found alive and well about ten kilometres away from Diffa a day later. At the time of receiving this updated report, Aphodiya was in the care of authorities.

• Forcible Deportation of Afghan Christians
  

  According to a recent report released by Amnesty International, thousands of asylum-seeking Afghans in Europe are being deported at a time when civilian casualties in Afghanistan are at their highest levels on record. As a result, Afghan Christian converts in vulnerable situations are being sent to a country where they are at serious risk of torture, kidnapping, death, and other human rights abuses.

• Imprisoned Christian Ends Hunger Strike

  
  Photo: Middle East Concern

  Slimane Bouhafs, who has been imprisoned since September 2016 for alleged blasphemy, ended his hunger strike in mid-October at the urging of his family. The Christian prisoner's hunger strike began following the court's rejection (on October 2nd) of an application that was presented for his conditional release. The application was made on the basis of his deteriorating health and consistent record of good conduct. The court provided no reason for the rejection of his application.