Tags

Kidnap

• Multitudes Killed While Attending Funeral Wake

  

  On the night of September 8th, Christians who had gathered at a funeral home in Ntoyo, a village in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were brutally attacked by militants armed with guns and machetes. The assault resulted in the fatalities of numerous believers, the kidnapping of many surviving victims, and the burning of 16 homes.

• Court Rulings for Forcibly Married Christian Youth

  

  The kidnapping of young teens in Pakistan continues to be a serious concern for Christians and other religious minorities. After being kidnapped, many of these girls are forcibly "converted" to Islam and then compelled to marry their captors or other men associated with the crimes. While some state governments have introduced legislation to stop this abusive practice – including a law that recently passed in the Islamabad area – the courts frequently favour the kidnappers because of the pressures they encounter from militant Islamic groups. Two recent cases highlight the many challenges facing Christian girls in this South Asian country.

• Needed Freedom from Kidnapping

  

  On January 5th, 12-year-old Saba Shafique was abducted from her home in Lahore, Pakistan, and forced to convert to Islam before being married to her abductor. This devastating incident occurred despite the country's laws prohibiting child marriage.

• Young Teen Kidnapped

  

  On January 9th, a 14-year-old Christian girl was kidnapped just outside her home. The abducted teen's family is concerned that those responsible are planning to forcibly convert her to Islam and then make the young girl marry one of her attackers.

• Abducted Christians Escape Captivity

  

  On March 1st, 2018, Islamic militants attacked a displacement camp in Borno state. As a result of the attack, three UNICEF workers were killed, along with eight soldiers. During the attack, a Christian woman named Alice Loksha Ngaddah, who worked as a nurse in the camp, was taken captive – along with two Muslim midwives, Saifura Khorsa and Hauwa Liman. Having been declared "apostates" by their captors merely for working with the Red Cross, the two midwives were killed a few months later.

• Classified Report on Pastor Raymond Koh

  

  Since the disappearance of her husband in 2017, Susanna Koh has continued to search for answers. In 2020, the Christian woman filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian government in an attempt to force them to reveal what they know about the abduction of her husband, Pastor Raymond Koh. As a result of the lawsuit, the government was ordered to release the classified findings of a task force that had been created to look into Pastor Raymond's disappearance, as well as that of a social activist named Amri Che Mat.

• 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.)

• Latest News on Pastor Raymond Koh

  

  On February 13th, 2017, Pastor Raymond Koh was kidnapped in broad daylight. More than seven years later, his wife Susanna continues to search tirelessly for answers regarding her husband's disappearance. As part of this process, she filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the Malaysian government for negligence.

• Kidnapped Teen Forcibly Converted to Islam and Married

  

  A 16-year-old Christian girl in Jaranwala, Punjab, was kidnapped on September 12th before being forced to convert to Islam and marry one of her captors. On the day of the attack, Diya Iftikhar was at home with her four sisters. The family's neighbours state that they saw three armed men force Diya into a white Suzuki van, which then sped away. The men have since been identified as Ghazaal Jutt, Afzal Jutt and Ramzan Jutt.

• Ongoing Violence Leads to Church Closures

  

  Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. One estimate states that, on average, every two hours there is a Christian in Nigeria who dies. The ongoing brutality comes from numerous directions, and news reports only reflect a small portion of the violent incidents that take place – whether they involve fatalities, abductions or the destruction of properties. In many cases, multiple atrocities take place during a terrorist attack.