Tags

Detainment / Arrest

• Coordinated Raids on Beijing Church Meetings

  

  On the morning of October 20th, multiple branches of the Beijing Zion Church had gathered for their usual worship services when police and religious affairs officials simultaneously forced their way into the meetings. The identities of everyone present were recorded and 12 people, including pastors and church members, were taken into custody.

• Bail Granted for Christians Facing Blasphemy Charges

  

  The previous week's Persecution & Prayer Alert reported on an unusual case in which bail was granted to Saima Masih, a Christian woman who was accused of blasphemy in Pakistan. (Read the previously published report.)While Saima has been freed from prison, she remains in danger from the avenging violence of militant vigilantes who are seeking to achieve what they falsely perceive as "justice." Remarkably, this past October, two similar blasphemy cases came before the Pakistani courts in which other accused Christians were also released on bail.

• Preacher of Early Rain Church Faces Harassment

  

  Since December 2018, the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, has been subjected to repeated raids and ongoing oppression from Communist Party authorities who seek to shut down the influential unregistered church. Though the church's pastor, Wang Yi, is serving a nine-year prison sentence, members of the church continue to boldly reach out with the Gospel message.

• Pastor John Cao and Colleague Detained for Conducting Baptisms

  

  On March 4th, Pastor John Cao was released from imprisonment in China after serving a seven-year sentence. Since his release, the pastor has longed to return to the United States, where he holds permanent residency, in order to reunite with his wife and family there. However, the Chinese government has prevented Pastor John from leaving the country by withholding his ID card and passport. (Read more.)

• Military Officers Arrest Christian Refugees

  

  Amid the ongoing civil war in Sudan, a group of over 100 Sudanese men, women and children travelled to the city of Shendi on the banks of the Nile River in search of refuge from the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group, RSF. There, the refugees – most of whom are members of the Sudanese Church of Christ – sought shelter in an affiliated church building.

• Christians Accused of Forcibly Converting Children

  

  Recently, 11 female evangelists from the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh travelled from Hyderabad (the capital of Telangana state) to Bhagwanpur (a town located within the northeastern state of Bihar) in order to spread the "Good News" of the Gospel in villages surrounding the area.

• Pastor Sentenced for Alleged Forced Conversions

  

  A church leader in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has been convicted on false charges of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. On September 25th, a court in Jhabua sentenced Pastor Vikas Nimach to five years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of over $1,600 CAD. His legal team intends to appeal the recent verdict, claiming that the trial lawyer mishandled the proceedings.

• Christian Woman Convicted of Blasphemy

  

  In July 2021, Shagufta Kiran was arrested after she forwarded a message in a WhatsApp group chat. The Christian woman was charged with intentionally offending religious feelings and insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad. While awaiting the court process, the accused believer has remained in custody since the time of her arrest. Following the allegations, Shagufta's family received constant threats. As a result, her husband Rafique and their children have been forced to relocate multiple times in search of safety. For previously published reports on this believer's case, see this page.

• Recent Release of 135 Prisoners, Including Christian Workers

  

  Churches and nonprofit organizations in Nicaragua have been encountering increasing harassment from the government under the leadership of President Daniel Ortega. In recent years, dozens of religious leaders were arrested or expelled from the country and hundreds of organizations have been shut down.

• Christian Brothers Charged with Blasphemy

  

  Sahil Masih and his twin brother Rahil were celebrating at a village fair on August 26th. Along with many other community members, the 18-year-old Christian brothers went on a carnival ride and threw fake currency notes into the crowd. Unfortunately, it was discovered that some of the slips of paper thrown by the participants contained Quranic verses. It was assumed by those present that the young Christian men were the ones responsible, leading to the arrest of their mother and grandfather.