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Iranian Christian women describe ‘world’s most brutal prison’

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Iranian Christian women describe ‘world’s most brutal prison’
Two Iranian Christian women who once faced the threat of execution for their faith have described the conditions inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, calling it “the most brutal prison in the world”. Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh, who spent eight months there in 2009/10, now live in the US, where . . . Read More

Myanmar: new peace talks announced during Pope’s visit

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Pope Francis meeting Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit to Myanmar, Nov 2017 (Getty)
The third ‘Panglong Conference’ has been announced by Myanmar’s government during an official visit by Pope Francis, reports Catholic news agency Fides. Tabled for the last week in January, it will be the latest in a series of peace negotiations between armed ethnic groups and government forces. The original Panglong . . . Read More

South Sudan’s Christians return to Sudan, despite pressures

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Village church in Goli, South Sudan. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Many of the Christians who fled Sudan after the South’s independence in 2011 have returned, even though the authorities continue to close churches and harass Christians there, a Catholic priest told The Economist. Prayer centres that were closed have been reopened, Father Juma Charles of St Matthew’s Catholic Cathedral in . . . Read More

Iranian Christian convert released on bail days after threat of ‘indefinite’ incarceration

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Iranian Christian convert released on bail days after threat of ‘indefinite’ incarceration
An Iranian convert to Christianity arrested on unspecified charges has been released on bail just days after his family was told he would be detained indefinitely. Mohammed Ali Torabi, 39, was ordered to pay 200 million tomans (around US $57,000) to secure his release from prison in Ahvaz, capital of Iran’s . . . Read More

How serious is Saudi Arabia about religious freedom?

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How serious is Saudi Arabia about religious freedom?
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, says he wants to move his conservative Muslim country towards a more moderate version of Islam, but how serious is he about religious freedom? Speaking at a conference for investors in Riyadh last month the 32-year-old Crown Prince said the conservative version of . . . Read More

ISIS ‘the greatest preacher for Christianity in the world’

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More than 20 people lost their lives in the Palm Sunday attack on the St George Cathedral in Tanta, Egypt.
An Egyptian bishop says that by killing hundreds of Christians across the Middle East the Islamic State group has in fact strengthened the Church and been “the greatest preacher for Christianity in the world”. Bishop Stephen of Beba and Fashn, speaking during a memorial service for the murdered Coptic priest . . . Read More