Sharia (Islamic law) is the foundation of Sudan’s legal system, and leaving Islam is punishable by death; Christians who talk about their faith can be accused of an “act that encourages apostasy”. Christianity is seen as Western, making it a political target. Several Christians have been imprisoned in recent years, charged with “spying”. Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes including “genocide”, is believed to want to “rid” Sudan of Christianity. In 2016 the government announced plans to destroy 27 churches, claiming they were in violation of the designated purposes of the land they were built on.
Coptic monk kidnapped in Darfur released
An Egyptian-born monk has been released, 40 days after he was abducted in Sudan’s embattled Darfur region, reports Fides. Rev. Ghabrial al-Antony, a Coptic Orthodox monk working in Nyala, South Darfur, was kidnapped on 14 April by an armed group, not far from the refugee camp in Atash. According to […]
Khartoum releases Christian minister, holds another ‘pending charges’
After imposing nearly half a year in detention, Sudan has now released one Christian minister, while still keeping a second without legal access, pending possible charges of “undermining national security”. On Tuesday, 10 May, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) released 36-year-old Telahoon (Telal) Nogosi Kassa Rata from Khartoum’s […]
Coptic monk kidnapped from Sudan farm
The Cairo-based news organization Watani International that an Egyptian-born Coptic monk serving in Sudan has been kidnapped. Rev. Ghabrial al-Antony was working on his brother’s farm in Sudan’s Darfur region, Watani quoted Rev. Boulos Fouad of the Coptic Church in Khartoum as saying. Fouad said three men tied up the […]
Khartoum keeps 5 Christian leaders under daily surveillance
Sudanese authorities have, apparently against their own law, continued to keep two church leaders incommunicado since mid-December, with no official charges yet filed against them; recently Sudan has also increased the number of church leaders who must report every day to its security services. Telahoon Nogosi Kassa Rata, a leader […]
Refugee churches in Khartoum ordered to ‘register’
Representatives from Sudan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs have convened leaders of refugee churches in Khartoum to tell them to stop their services until they have registered, sources have told World Watch Monitor. The churches affected are those started for refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Philippines, among others. If […]
Christian leaders kept in Sudan since December uncharged, but incommunicado
Sudanese authorities have been keeping two Christian pastors in an unknown location since mid-December, with no official charges yet filed against them. On 12. Dec., members of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) visited the family home of Telahoon Nogosi Kassa Rata, a leader of the Fellowship of University […]
Sudan: pastor released, but others held
The charges against a Sudanese pastor have been dropped, following a court hearing in Khartoum, but four other church leaders are still being held. Hafiz Mengisto, leader of Khartoum’s Bahri Evangelical Church, was taken to court for challenging a government employee overseeing the destruction of parts of the church complex […]
Four years of bombings in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains
A makeshift blackboard in the Nuba Mountains, where Open Doors International reports that ‘daily’ and ‘indiscriminate’ bombardment has led to the destruction of Christians’ homes, churches, schools, hospitals and crops.Courtesy Open Doors International The recent trial of nine young Christian women in the Sudanese capital Khartoum for wearing trousers […]
Freed pastors finally back in S. Sudan
The two pastors and their families detained at Sudan’s Khartoum airport as they tried to return home following their release from prison are finally back in South Sudan. Yat Michael and Peter Yen flew to South Sudan’s Juba airport on 19 August from Khartoum. They appeared to be in good […]
Sudan finds woman innocent of indecent dress
A Christian woman, Seema Ali Osman, was found innocent of indecent or immoral dress under Article 152 of the Sudanese Criminal Code on 16 August, reports CSW. Osman’s was the final verdict in a series of trials following the arrest in June of a group of Christian women for wearing trousers […]