Tag: Ethiopia

Ethiopian Evangelical who ‘outraged religious feeling’ given second chance to appeal

May 1, 2018 Ethiopia Arba Minch, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Protestants

Mezemir has been found guilty of insulting members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An Ethiopian court of cassation has said it will hear the appeal of an Evangelical Christian sentenced to seven months in prison for “causing outrage to religious peace and feeling”. The appeal hearing is scheduled for 9 May and follows the rejection of a previous appeal by a lower court. . . . Read More

‘State-sponsored repression’ behind Eritrea’s refugee epidemic

April 24, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, African Union, East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Pentecostals, Refugees, Religious freedom, USA

Eritrea remains “one of the worst examples of state-sponsored repression of freedom of religion or belief in the world”, says USCIRF Commissioner. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

“State-sponsored repression” is the reason Eritrea is one of the world’s main sources of refugees, a US human rights commission has heard. The East African country is not at war, nor does it suffer from terrorism, but some estimate that as many as 10 per cent of Eritreans have fled . . . Read More

Ethiopian Protestant loses appeal against prison sentence for ‘causing outrage to religious peace and feeling’

March 22, 2018 Ethiopia Arba Minch, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Mahibere Kidusan, Protestants

The Holy Saviour Orthodox Church in Addis Ababa. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An Ethiopian court has turned down the appeal of an Evangelical Christian sentenced to seven months in prison for “causing outrage to religious peace and feeling”. In its verdict, published on 19 March, the court upheld an earlier sentence given by a judge in the southern city of Arba Minch . . . Read More

Ethiopian Evangelical sent to prison for ‘insulting’ Orthodox Church

February 9, 2018 Ethiopia Arba Minch, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Mahibere Kidusan, Protestants

A judge in southern Ethiopia has sentenced an Evangelical Christian to seven months in prison for “causing outrage to religious peace and feeling” following accusations believed to come from members of the predominant Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC). The judge in the city of Arba Minch handed down the sentence on . . . Read More

Ethiopian Christians arrested for ‘praying against government’

January 10, 2018 Ethiopia Addis Ababa, Chagni, Churches, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, House churches, Pentecostals, Tigray

Christians worship during a church service in a town in central Ethiopia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2016)

Seven Ethiopian Christians have been arrested and detained in the north-western town of Chagni on suspicion of praying against the government. A local source told World Watch Monitor the seven men, members of the Meserete Kiristos church, were followed and overheard by a local militia group when they went up a . . . Read More

Freedom of thought ‘regressing on a global scale’

December 6, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Apostasy, Asia Bibi, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Comoros, Education, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Qatar, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, The Gambia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

There are many Pakistani Christian women like Aasiya Noreen who live in fear of the Blasphemy law in their country and the (potential of) abuse. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The 2017 Freedom of Thought Report, presented yesterday (5 December), should be alarming “to all who care about freedom of thought and expression”, as it shows “a pattern of regression on a global scale”, says its editor, Bob Churchill. The report, published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) . . . Read More

Ethiopia: church attacked, then told to close and member arrested for ‘inciting religious clashes’

August 11, 2017 Ethiopia Amhara, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Mahibere Kidusan, Pentecostals, Tigray

A Pentecostal church in Ethiopia has been ordered to stop meeting in a residential area, in the wake of a mob attack on the church, after which a church member was arrested for “illegal activities” that “incited religious clashes”. The Full Gospel Church in Tikil Dingaye, 20km from the historic . . . Read More

Ethiopian Christian attacked with machetes for evangelising

July 31, 2017 Ethiopia Converts, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Tigray

An Ethiopian Christian suffered deep wounds to the back of his head when he was attacked while alone in his home by a group of local Muslims with machetes The attack on 16 July left the 27-year-old man needing life-saving surgery. The man – who, for security reasons, cannot be . . . Read More

European migrant deals ‘could put victims of religious persecution at risk’

June 17, 2017 Afghanistan, Converts, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Migrants, Pakistan, Refugees, Somalia, Sudan

Iranian migrants line up for prayer alongside other members of the congregation at the Dk Live church in Dunkirk

New deals aimed at reducing the number of migrants reaching Europe’s shores could endanger the lives of people fleeing religious persecution, the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) has warned. The Partnership Framework on Migration was launched last year as the European Commission’s response to member states’ requests for a strategic approach . . . Read More

Nationalism in Asia, Islamic extremism in Africa – the 2017 World Watch List

January 11, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Africa, Asia, Bhutan, BJP, Ethiopia, Hindu nationalism, India, Iran, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Kenya, Libya, Narendra Modi, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Yemen

One of the greatest increases in animosity towards Christians last year took place in India as a result of religiously motivated nationalism, according to the latest annual survey of the 50 countries in which it is most difficult to live as a Christian. Since the rise to power of Narendra . . . Read More

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