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2018-06-07

• Underground and Official Churches Targeted
  
  Posters are often torn down or painted
  over if they contain Christian messages.
  Photo: ChinaAid

  As of the end of May, almost 100 house churches in the central Chinese province of Henan have been shut down. Along with those closures, authorities have taken action against the official Three-Self Patriot Movement churches, demanding that all crosses be removed from their buildings.

  According to a member of an official church, after orders were received to remove the crosses, they chose to remove them on their own, rather than face demolition by government crews. "No one dares defy the orders," he stated.

• Church Faces Order to Close

  

  A Pentecostal church in Kisauni, which is located in Zanzibar (a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania), has been facing pressure from local Muslims about its presence in the community. The annoyed community members lobbied the local authorities, who complied and issued the church a notice of closure.

  The complaint was that the services were too loud, even though the church did not use loudspeakers, as customarily done at the local mosque. In fact, the congregants had not faced any problems until their new building was completed in February.

• Sentences Upheld
  

  A 12-year sentence against Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was upheld under appeal on June 4th, along with the sentences of three other human rights defenders. He was previously imprisoned in 2011 on charges of "anti-state propaganda," and had been kidnapped and beaten in February 2017 (see this page).

  Arrested again on July 30th, 2017, Pastor Nguyen was convicted in April 2018 of "carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government." As part of a group called The Brotherhood for Democracy, he had been involved in supporting prisoners and their families, as well as advocating for democracy.