Tags
Discrimination
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Young Victim’s Funeral Raided by Perpetrators
On July 27th, Celina Ishaku's son was murdered by Fulani militants, the same group that had killed her husband two years earlier. The next day, friends and family gathered to bury the boy. Rather than allow those at the funeral to grieve in peace, however, the assailants attacked the community once again, raiding the service and shooting at the mourners. Along with the destruction of ten homes and multiple farms, three youths were killed in the ambush.
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Christian Medical Worker Forced to Decline Promotion
In recent months, a number of healthcare workers in Pakistan have faced opposition because of their Christian faith. In April, two nurses were charged with blasphemy after following instructions from their supervisor (see this report). In another instance, a nurse was accused of blasphemy by her co-workers for no apparent reason and subjected to abuse (read more). The latest reported case involves a Christian man who had been threatened and assaulted after receiving a promotion to a leadership position at his place of employment.
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Three Churches Sealed for Closure
On July 7th, three more church buildings were sealed by Algerian authorities. These recent closures are part of the government's campaign, which was launched in 2017, to shut down Christian places of worship. This latest incident brings the total number of sealed churches to 16. For details on the previous closures, go to the country report.
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Christian Sentenced for Allegedly Accepting Donations
"Ahmed" (not his real name due to security concerns) knows well the cost of following Christ. When the Algerian man became a Christian in April 2013, his wife began seeing positive changes in his life. As a result, three months later, she also professed her faith in Christ.
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Government Advisor Beaten and Threatened
Masked gunmen attacked a government religious affairs worker on the night of July 2nd, threatening to kill him for supporting the return of church properties to Christian communities. Botrous Badawi, a Christian and advisor to the minister of Sudan's Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, was travelling south of Khartoum when a group of bandits forced his vehicle to stop. Armed with assault rifles, they beat him and threatened to kill him if he continued to advocate for the return of a property that was confiscated from the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church.
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Believer's Family Escapes into Exile
A Christian believer in Saudi Arabia, who was identified in previous Persecution & Prayer Alert reports as "A" or "Adam," has been sentenced with a large fine for allegedly attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity, as well as assisting his sister to flee the country. The accused believer was given 30 days to pay the fine unless an appeal was granted.
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Christians in Three Villages Forced to Flee
Tribal animists have forced more than 50 Christians to flee their homes and seek shelter in the jungles of Odisha. These believers represent several families that are now stranded without proper shelter, food and water.
The conflict began within the past two months in the village of Sikapai where opposing villagers destroyed the roofs of homes belonging to as many as eight Christian families. Not only had the belongings of the targeted Christians been looted, these victims were also subjected to physical beatings and consequently driven into the jungle. When five Christian families in the nearby village of Kotlanga received similar threats, they remembered what had happened in Sikapai and likewise fled their homes, joining the other displaced families in the jungle.
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COVID-19 Outbreak Leads to Opposition
For more than 20 years, Phuong Van Tan and Vo Xuan Loan have served at the Revival Ekklesia Mission Church in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. However, in recent months, they became the targets of major opposition and a potential criminal investigation after a COVID-19 outbreak was blamed on the church.
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Theological Colleges Stripped of Licenses
On April 6th, the Theological Institute run by the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Ingria was stripped of its higher education license. Another Lutheran college in Russia is in the process of fighting a similar action. The colleges of the Baptist Union and Pentecostal Union have likewise lost their licenses, and other colleges have been banned from accepting new students.
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Church Plundered in Raid
On March 27th, Pastor Yang Jiale of the Yanjiao Abundance Church in Hebei, China, received a phone call from a government official asking him to unlock the door to the church building. Pastor Yang informed the caller that no one was in the building and no events were being held. Therefore, he didn't unlock the door.