News

Copt soldier’s family say he didn’t commit suicide, he was killed

  March 19, 2018 Egypt Asyut, Conscripts, Copts, Egypt, Giza, Upper Egypt

A young Egyptian Copt reported to have committed suicide in his army unit last week was in fact killed by his commanding officer, his family say. Matthew Samir Habib, 22, was pronounced dead at his Al-Ahram Palace Club unit in Giza, just south of Cairo, last Wednesday morning (14 March). His . . . Read More

Nigeria: Unexploded Air Force bombs found in shelled Christian village

  March 16, 2018 Nigeria Adamawa, Fulani herdsmen, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

Three months after at least 35 deaths were attributed to the Nigerian Air Force following its bombardment of six Christian communities in north-eastern Adamawa State, community leaders have expressed concern at the discovery of unexploded bombs. The bombs were found in the village of Shaforon and community leaders say they . . . Read More

UN ‘failing’ Eritrea’s detained Christians

  March 16, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Asmara, East Africa, Eritrea, Human rights, Pentecostals, Religious freedom

Eritrea’s human rights record was again in the spotlight at the UN Human Rights Council earlier this week. Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in her opening remarks that over 100 people were arrested in Eritrea in 2017 for practising religions not officially recognised by the state. . . . Read More

Algeria government criticised over heavy fines for transporting Bibles

  March 16, 2018 Algeria Algeria, Protestant Church of Algeria

The Algerian government has once again been criticised for alleged discrimination against the country’s Christian minority, this time by handing large fines to two brothers for carrying over 50 Bibles in their car. Prosecutors claimed the Bibles were to be used for proselytism, though the brothers said they were for . . . Read More

Hmong Christians hospitalised after mob attack in Vietnam’s northwest

  March 15, 2018 Vietnam Catholics, Central Highlands, Hmong, Human rights, Vietnam

Four Vietnamese Christian families – 24 people in all – have been attacked by a mob led by the village chief, local sources have revealed to World Watch Monitor. Four people were hospitalised for eight days after the 1 March attack, with injuries to their heads and arms. All four families are . . . Read More

Philippines: Mindanao gets first deputy governor for Christians

  March 15, 2018 Philippines Bangsamoro, Islamic State, Marawi, Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Philippines

The autonomous Muslim region in the southern Philippines has named its first deputy governor for Christians. The governor, Mujiv Hataman, said the appointment of Edgardo Ramirez, a known human rights activist and radio broadcaster, would ensure the voices of Christians – a minority in the region – are heard. After . . . Read More

Pakistan Christian still on death row, five years after his ‘blasphemy’ sparked Joseph Colony attack

  March 15, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Faisalabad, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Pakistan, Sahiwal, Sawan Masih

At the fifth anniversary of the arson attack on a Christian neighbourhood in the Pakistani city of Lahore, the mother of the Christian man convicted of blaspheming against Islam – and so provoking the attack – says she still prays for his release. Sawan Masih*, a 30-year-old sanitation worker, was accused . . . Read More

India: Church leaders deplore bulldozing of hospital premises in BJP-ruled state

  March 14, 2018 India BJP, Catholics, Hindu nationalism, India, Madhya Pradesh, Minorities, Ujjain

Church leaders in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have deplored an attack on a Catholic hospital, the premises of which was vandalised and bulldozed by a mob led by the personal assistant of a Member of Parliament, representing the ruling BJP. “Police have filed a case today [14 . . . Read More

Dozens killed in spate of violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt

  March 14, 2018 Nigeria African Union, Christian Association of Nigeria, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Plateau

Three more villages in Bassa Local Government Area (LGA), in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, have come under attack today, 14 March, as Fulani herdsmen continue their killing spree in the country’s volatile Middle Belt. The violence has claimed some 57 lives over the last two weeks alone. The assailants, identified . . . Read More

Turkey calls for life imprisonment of US pastor Andrew Brunson

  March 14, 2018 Turkey Andrew Brunson, Coup, Fethullah Gülen, Izmir, PKK, Turkey, USA

Turkish prosecutors demanded life imprisonment for jailed US pastor Andrew Brunson in an official indictment presented to Izmir’s 2nd Criminal Court yesterday, 13 March. Arrested without bail since October 2016, Brunson is accused of being “a member and executive” of the Islamic movement led by self-exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, . . . Read More