Tags

Detainment / Arrest

• Two Church Leaders Arrested

  

  Two church leaders, who were arrested during a Bible class on June 14th in the city of Omdurman, are presently facing charges of public nuisance. After being detained by police for four hours, Pastor Kabashi Idris and evangelist Yacoub Ishakh were released on bail.

• Health Concerns for Christian Prisoner

  

  In 2017, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh was sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly "acting against national security through the formation and establishment of an illegal church organization in his home." The arrest came after 30 police officers raided an engagement party he attended in June 2016. The authorities considered Naser the leader of the Christian gathering. For more details, go to this page.

• 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.

• Sentences for Detained Christians

  

  An Iranian-Armenian Christian leader has been sentenced to ten years in prison for promoting "propaganda contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam" through the house church he operated in his home. The 60-year-old believer, Anooshavan Avedian, was arrested in August 2020 and released on bail a month later, along with two converts to Christianity.

• Threats in the Midst of Renewed Church Growth

  

  Once an active centre of Christianity during the days of the early church, Libya is now known as an epicentre of persecution that's so extreme, there are few believers today remaining in the country. According to some reports, however, the number of Christ-followers is again starting to grow, despite increasing opposition from governmental leaders and families. For more information, go to our country report.

• Pastor Tortured in Police Custody

  

  On April 16th, a Christian pastor was arrested in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh under false charges of conversion activities. The pastor and his family were visiting relatives in the village of Anamouh Anam and, as part of their visit, they all joined together in a time of singing praises to God and prayer. However, police were notified of the gathering by a neighbour who overheard the Christians' voices.

• Christians Arrested During Prayer Meeting

  

  In mid-March, 29 evangelical Christians were arrested when Eritrean security forces raided a home prayer meeting in Asmara. According to reports, 17 women and 12 men were taken to the Mai Serwa prison camp on the outskirts of the capital city.

• Blasphemy Charges for Alleged Facebook Post

  

  Fansan Shahid, a 54-year-old Christian from Gujranwala in Punjab Province, is in federal custody with charges predicated on a blasphemous comment he allegedly made in a Facebook post during 2019. Fansan was arrested just after midnight on March 16th when more than a dozen police officers stormed into his house and began beating him before taking him into custody.

• Christian Teachers Formally Charged; Others Released

  

  In August 2021, four house church leaders were arrested for allegedly carrying out "illegal business operations." The charges relate to their work at the Jordan River Learning Center, a house church school affiliated with the Mount Carmel Church in Wuhu, Anhui State. At the time, six other teachers at the school were arrested but then released on bail.

• Court Orders Partial Destruction

  

  A court in the Sudanese city of Khartoum Bahri has ordered the partial demolition of the Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church, effectively blocking the only entry point to the building. The church has faced several court challenges in the past. In 2013, the government imposed a committee upon the church, which then sold part of its land to investors. That committee was later ruled illegal by the court. Since that time, however, various buildings were destroyed and church members have subsequently been arrested and fined for protesting the illegal sales of their properties (read more).