India: BJP-Led Government to Introduce Anti-Conversion Bill to Parliament
India’s BJP-led government is preparing to introduce a nationwide bill in the next session of Parliament that will prevent any kind of religious conversion. This falls on the heels of a recent bill that stripped India’s only Muslim-majority state of its statehood.
Eritrea: Human Rights Watch Report Shows Nation Still Violating Human Rights Consistently
Human Rights Watch released a report last week showing that Eritrea continues to violate human rights daily, despite many people hoping that the end to the 20-year border war with Ethiopia would help change this.
Indonesia: Local Residents Stop the Construction of Church in Central Java
The construction project of an Indonesian Baptist Church in Central Java was stopped by local residents, who argued that the building permit owned by the church had expired, and subsequently sealed the project site where the church was built.
India: Pastor Dragged from House Fellowship and Beaten
Individuals believed to be radical Hindu nationalists disrupted a private prayer meeting and beat the pastor in northern India. The pastor was then reported to local police for allegedly converting individuals to Christianity.
Iraq: Christians Left Out of Judicial System
Iraq’s legislature is considering a proposal which would require that Supreme Court decisions maintain the support of at least 3 of the 4 Islamic scholars sitting on the judiciary. Christians are not able to participate in Iraq’s judiciary system.
Sudan: New Constitution Fails to Address Religious Freedom
Since April, protesters and military leaders have been in talks about a transition from a military to a civilian-led government. On Sunday, August 4, Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) and Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), initialed a constitutional agreement that could be the start of democracy.
China: No Update on Detained Christian After Eight Months
The wife of a detained Christian from Sichuan’s Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) still has not been given an update on her husband’s case since his arrest eight months ago, despite China’s criminal procedure law that states that suspects cannot be detained for more than seven months after
China: Huoshi Church in Guizhou Raided Again
Nigeria: Pastor Killed, Wife Abducted While Traveling to Capital in Kaduna State
Gunmen ambushed Pastor Jeremiah Omolara and his family as they were driving to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. They opened fire on the car, instantly killing the pastor. Their son, who was reportedly in the car with them was able to escape, but his wife was abducted and now being held for ransom.
Nigeria: Another Attack Targets Christians in Plateau State
On August 1, Fulani militants ambushed and shot three young men, all members of the Baptist church in Nigeria’s Plateau State. The three men were serving as part of the community volunteer watch. Thankfully, all three survived and were admitted to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Algeria: Police Interrupt Church Service to Close Church
Interrupting a worship service, police on Tuesday (Aug. 6) sealed a church building in north-central Algeria, less than three months after closing another site in the same area.
Pakistan: Christians Lament the Forceful Conversion and Marriage of Young Girls
On July 2, Benish Imran, a 14-year old Christian girl was kidnapped, forcefully married and converted to Islam. Benish, scared and manipulated, was forced to affirm before a court that she was married by her own free will and that she is 18 years old.
India: Pastor Beaten by Hindu Radicals, Officials Refuse to Register Case
Eight young Hindu radicals attacked a pastor who was delivering Christian pamphlets on his motorbike in his neighborhood in Sheohar, India. They pushed him off his bike and beat him up, fracturing bones in his neck and head.
India: Public Awareness, Pressure Help Persecuted Christians Win Justice
Members of the Sikh community disrupted a Christian wedding yielding rods and sticks and threatening the attendees to leave and then pressed false charges against them. Police arrested 10 Christians, including the wife and
Pakistan: Church Continues to Worship in the Face of Terrorist Threats
For more than a month, the head pastor of an Assembly of God Church in Karachi has been receiving threats to stop hosting prayer services and other church activities in his community. In a phone call last week, an unidentified group reportedly threatened t to blow up the church if he did not halt all activities.