News

Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh’s kidnap inquiry halted

  January 19, 2018 Malaysia Borneo, Converts, Joshua Hilmy, Kidnapping, Malaysia, Minorities, Police, Proselytism, Putrajaya, Raymond Koh, Religious freedom, Sabah, Sarawak

The fragile hopes of a Malaysian family in search of answers to the abduction of church leader Raymond Koh were dashed by a surprise development on Wednesday (17 January). Almost a year after Koh went missing, after little or no progress in police investigations, Malaysia’s newest Inspector General of Police . . . Read More

UK Parliament hears ‘squeeze’ of persecution of Christians ‘as dangerous as violence’

  January 18, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Blasphemy, Children, Commonwealth, Egypt, India, London, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Sweepers, UK, Women, Youth

Most of the 200 million Christians globally under pressure for their faith don’t experience violence but a ‘daily squeeze’ which is more insidious and – if left unchallenged – can lead to violence, MPs and others heard yesterday (17 January) at the launch of Open Doors’ World Watch List 2018 . . . Read More

Catholic priest stabbed as violence continues in Central African Republic

  January 17, 2018 Central African Republic Bangassou, Bossangoa, Central African Republic, Paoua, Seleka, UN

Catholic bishops in the Central African Republic have condemned a recent upsurge of violence in the country and called on armed groups to lay down their weapons. Fighting between rival armed groups erupted in the north-western town of Paoua and its surroundings at the end of December, while in the . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian girl, 13, raped by fellow worker in field

  January 17, 2018 Pakistan Bonded labourers, Gujranwala, Lahore, Pakistan, Rape

A 13-year-old Pakistani Christian girl was raped in a rural area near the city of Gujranwala, north of Lahore, on Sunday (14 January), as she worked in the fields. The girl was found by her younger cousin, and taken to hospital. The local police station has registered a case and . . . Read More

Burkina Faso: 2 years on, thousands call for release of ‘doctor of the poor’ by Al-Qaeda offshoot

  January 17, 2018 Burkina Faso Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Burkina Faso, Djibo, Ken Elliott, Kidnapping, Ouagadougou, Soum, West Africa

Thousands took to the streets of Djibo, a northern town in Burkina Faso, on Monday (15 January) to call for the government to secure the release of an Australian doctor, Ken Elliott, kidnapped two years ago. The abduction was claimed by the ‘Emirate of the Sahara’, a branch of Al-Qaeda . . . Read More

Nigerian student arrested after converting from Islam to Christianity

  January 16, 2018 Nigeria Converts, ECWA, Islamic extremism, Jama'atu Nasril Islam, Jos, Nasarawa, Nigeria, Plateau

A Nigerian university student who converted from Islam to Christianity has been arrested by state security forces, as has the man who introduced her to Christianity. Nabila Umar Sanda, 19, is a student at Bingham University in Karu, in the central state of Nasarawa, which is owned by one of . . . Read More

Eritrea: mental health challenges for Christian man freed after 13 years in prison

  January 16, 2018 Eritrea Asmara, Barentu, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Prisons, Religious freedom, Seventh-day Adventists

Shiden* was young and full of optimism for the future when he was imprisoned for his Christian faith. For the next 13 years he was exposed to torture of different kinds, including months in a very small cell in solitary confinement, and even his eventual release failed to bring about . . . Read More

Egypt: Sinai militants pledge to ‘kill more Copts’ after murdering man over cross tattoo

  January 15, 2018 Egypt Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Islamic extremism, Ismailia, Sinai, Sohag, Suez

Militants belonging to the ‘State of Sinai’ group in Egypt have promised to “kill more Copts” after murdering a 27-year-old Coptic man because of the tattoo of a cross on his wrist. Bassem Herz Attalhah, also known as Haythem Shehata, was on his way home from work in El-Arish, capital . . . Read More

Fulani herdsmen ‘terrorists’ ‘pampered’ in Nigeria’s Middle Belt

  January 15, 2018 Nigeria Adamawa, Benue, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Muhammadu Buhari, Nasarawa, Nigeria, Taraba

A spate of violence attributed to ethnic Fulani herdsmen in central Nigeria has seen dozens killed since the turn of year. In Benue State, violence has claimed 80 lives and forced 80,000 to flee. The funerals on 11 January for 73 of the victims in Makurdi, Benue’s capital, were broadcast . . . Read More

Report: ‘Islamic war of expansion’ underpins ‘religious cleansing’ in southern Kaduna, Nigeria

  January 15, 2018 Nigeria Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Kaduna, Middle Belt, Nigeria

A new report highlights Nigeria’s failed attempts, over decades, to deal with the violence perpetrated by Fulani Muslim herdsmen in one of the country’s Middle Belt states. It concludes that continued failings will force Christians to leave the area in a “religious cleansing” that is part of a drive for . . . Read More