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released

• Prisoners Released After Years of Detention

  

  Originally from Yemen, Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo was forced to flee to Egypt in 2014 after being subjected to violent attacks because of his conversion to Christianity. Then, in 2021, Abdulbaqi was arrested by Egyptian officials following an interview he did for a Christian television program addressing the topic of persecution in Yemen. Additionally, he was identified as a member of a Facebook group for those who had converted from Islam to Christianity. Nour Gerges, an Egyptian Coptic believer who also participated in the same Facebook group, was arrested at the same time.

• Christian Couple Released on Bail

  

  In a Persecution & Prayer Alert report published earlier this month, it was revealed that a pastor and his wife in India had been convicted of allegedly attempting to convert Dalit villagers within their community. Pastor Jose Pappachan and his wife Sheeja were both fined and sentenced to five years in prison (see our previous report).

• Acquittal for Christian Brothers

  

  Twin brothers Sahil and Raheel (also spelled "Rahil") Shahid were arrested in August 2024 and charged with blasphemy. The young Christian men were accused of throwing scraps of paper containing Quranic verses from an amusement park ride. For more details on the original incident, go to this page.

• Teen Girl Released from her Abductors

  

  On September 12th, 16-year-old Diya Iftikhar was abducted from her family's home by three men who are well-known for their opposition to Christians. In a video message to her parents four days later, Diya stated that she had converted to Islam and married Ghazaal Jutt, one of her kidnappers. (Review a previous report.)

• Imprisoned Christians Released!

  

  With thankfulness to God for His faithfulness, we are pleased to announce that the following two believers, both of whom were imprisoned for their faith in Iran, have been released during recent days:

• 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.

• Church Leader Released

  

  In 2023, Reverend Dr. Hkalam Samson was sentenced to six years in prison under the country's anti-terrorism laws. See this page for an earlier report on the charges against this prominent Christian leader.Although Dr. Samson was released under a general amnesty on April 17th of this year, later that evening, the authorities came to his home and detained him again, allegedly for questioning.

• Detained Christian Convert Released on Bail

  

  Christian convert Esmaeil Narimanpour was detained at his home on Christmas Eve in 2023. When his family members attempted to inquire about his situation, they were subjected to interrogation by security forces for several hours. For more details on this incident, go to this page.

• Joyous Celebration Over Church Elder's Release!

  

  On March 19th, authorities released Pastor Geng Zejun after he served 15 months in prison. His wife and son, along with several others – both Christians and non-Christians – brought flowers to the detention centre to joyfully celebrate his release. A video of the reunion can be viewed on YouTube.

• House Church Leader Released After Lengthy Sentence

  

  In July 2015, Hu Shigen was taken into custody and accused of inciting "subversion of state power." Convicted the following year, he was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years' imprisonment. While in prison, Elder Hu suffered a heart attack in 2019, and his family was assured by officials that he would be released due to the seriousness of his condition. However, despite this promise, the elderly Christian leader continued to be held in custody. (Review this previously posted report.) With thanksgiving, we are pleased to report that Elder Hu was finally released after serving a lengthy sentence and had returned home on March 26th.