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Prison

• 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.

• Retrial Request Denied

  

  Last month, it was reported that the prison sentence for Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh was to be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Iran (read more). Naser was convicted in 2017 and 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."

• Detained for Attempting to Share the Gospel with the President

  

  A Christian woman in China was detained on February 20th after repeated attempts to share the Good News with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. In her latest attempt, the Christian woman, Zhou Jinxia, waited at Beijing's Zhongnanhai Xinhua Gate for the couple to pass by so she could personally share the Gospel message with them. According to ChinaAid, she has visited the gate with evangelistic signs over 50 times in recent years and, as a result, was detained several times.

• Four Christians Jailed on False Charges

  

  Four Christians, including two pastors, were jailed on false charges of conversion activities in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district on February 19th. According to the complaint, Raju Bhalavi and his wife Ruth had thrown a "mutton party" in their home village of Udama. Denny Paul and Cybus Ivne, who had been visiting from the neighbouring state of Maharashtra, were among the guests.

• Pastor Hao Zhiwei Sentenced to Eight Years

  

  In July 2019, Pastor Hao Zhiwei was arrested for allegedly swindling money by collecting church offerings. Two other Christian women were also arrested at that time. The authorities alleged that the house church, located in China's Hubei province, was illegal. Therefore, any money collected to support it was considered to have been done unlawfully (read more).

• Prison Sentence to be Reviewed by the Supreme Court

  

  On June 24th of 2016, 30 intelligence police agents raided an engagement party near Tehran, Iran. Everyone who attended the celebration was detained, including three visiting Christians from Azerbaijan. Most were released from custody, except for the three Azeri believers and Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, whom the authorities considered the leader of the Christian gathering. For more details on this raid, go to this page.

• Church Members Sentenced to Prison

  

  The Xuncheng Reformed Church in Taiyuan, China, has faced numerous raids over the past year. On December 30th, 2020, while Pastor An Yankui was hosting a Bible study in his home, security officers raided the house and forcefully restrained him (view this page). During his detainment, the pastor served a 15-day administrative detention.

• Christians Jailed by Village Mayor

  

  Three Christians in San Pedro Chimaltepec, a Mexican town located in eastern Oaxaca state, were jailed by the local mayor after refusing to contribute monetarily to an annual religious festival. Many residents of Oaxaca state practise a "traditionalist" mix of Catholic and indigenous religions involving rituals in which all villagers are expected to participate. The three Christian men, who are all members of the Emmanuel Mission Center Church, believed that it would be wrong for them to contribute to a festival that honours idols.

• Death Penalty for Longtime Prisoner; Bail for Another

  

  On January 3rd, a judge at the Rawalpindi District Court in Pakistan ruled to change a Christian pastor's sentence of life imprisonment to the death penalty. Zafar Bhatti has been imprisoned on charges of blasphemy since July 2012. After five years, he was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The charges arise from an alleged text message, yet Zafar denies that the phone in question was even registered to his name. For more information on the ordeal facing this Pakistani pastor, view these reports.