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Since 2021, Pastor Chang Shun of the Maizhong Reformed Church in Fuyang City has encountered ongoing harassment from Chinese authorities. Unfortunately, all his appeals, in response to the multiple administrative detentions and fines he received over the years, have been unsuccessful. In 2023, Pastor Chang's church was officially banned by the government. Most recently, the harassed church leader was detained on June 29th during a raid by law enforcement officers. In this latest occurrence, he was taken into custody alongside Elder Ma Tao on suspicion of "organizing illegal gatherings." Several visiting friends and family members of Pastor Chang were also detained. Authorities forcibly relocated the visiting individuals, loading their belongings onto trucks and sending them back to their hometowns with strict orders not to return to Fuyang.

For many years, Gao Zhisheng was a bold advocate for persecuted religious communities in China. While serving as a lawyer representing various faith groups, he himself was frequently harassed and arrested. In 2005, Gao's law practice was shut down by the government after he publicly condemned the human rights violations that were being committed against practitioners of a religious movement known as Falun Gong.

On July 22nd, Egyptian authorities formally charged Saeid Mansour Abdulraziq (a convert from Islam to Christianity) with joining a terrorist organization, stirring unrest and spreading false information. Since converting to the Christian faith in 2016 and joining the Russian Orthodox Church, Saeid experienced persistent rejection from his family and community, as well as intimidation from local police. Despite these challenges, he regularly shared his newfound faith with those around him.

In November 2024, national security police in Kyrgyzstan arrested Pastor Pavel Shreider and placed him in detention. At the time of the church leader's arrest, authorities also raided his home, along with the residences of several other Christians. In the process, thousands of books and Bibles were confiscated, along with cash and cell phones.

On March 8th, Mehran Shamloui was one of three Christians convicted in Iran for "propaganda" and membership in an alleged "opposition group." He was sentenced to more than ten years in prison. (For more details, see this report.)

Pastor Huang Yizi is a well-known house church leader in China's Zhejiang Province. For more than a decade, he has encountered repeated harassment and imprisonment for his Christian faith. In 2014, the pastor was arrested and sentenced to one year in prison after publicly protesting the government's campaign to remove crosses from church buildings across the province. He was arrested again in September 2015 and held for five months in a "black jail," where he had been forbidden from contacting his family and legal representatives. In 2021, Pastor Huang reported that he was being constantly monitored by the authorities and subjected to random interrogations (read more).

In 2001, during the aftermath of the World Trade Centre attacks in New York, a Christian man in Pakistan named Anwar Kenneth published a letter defending Christianity and expressing his belief that Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was not a prophet of God. As a result of the letter, Anwar was charged in 2002 and ultimately convicted of blasphemy – a crime that carries an automatic death sentence under Pakistani law. The imprisoned believer has remained on death row for the past 23 years.

Laleh Saati is a Christian convert and former asylum-seeker who was incarcerated in February 2024 and sentenced to two years in prison. (For more information on the imprisonment of this 46-year-old Iranian follower of Jesus, visit this page.)Throughout Laleh's time in custody, concerns have been raised about her physical health and psychological well-being. Most recently, it was reported that the Christian woman was denied needed medical treatment for a hand injury that had occurred as a result of a fall.

Hakop Gochumyan and his wife Elisa are citizens of Armenia who were visiting Iran in August 2023. While this Christian couple were having dinner with friends, government agents raided the gathering, resulting in their arrest. Eventually, Elisa was released on bail and permitted to return to Armenia with their children. However, Hakop was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly "engaging in deviant proselytizing activity." For more details, see our previously posted report.

In June 2024, Chand Shamaun was arrested and charged with insulting Islam, a charge that is commonly used in Pakistan against citizens belonging to minority religious groups. In fact, a recent report indicated that a record number of blasphemy cases had been filed during the year of 2024 – reaching a total of 344 official accusations. For the accused, imprisonment is typically dangerous and, in some cases, even deadly. And those who've been released on bail or acquitted frequently face vigilante violence from people who still perceive them to be guilty.