Tag: Protestants

Tajik pastor placed in solitary confinement in prison 350km from home

October 25, 2017 Tajikistan Bakhrom Kholmatov, Khujand, Protestants, Sogd, Tajikistan, Yavan

A Tajik Protestant church leader serving a three-year sentence for “singing extremist songs in church and so inciting religious hatred” has been moved to a prison 350km from his home and placed in solitary confinement. Bakhrom Kholmatov, 42, was sentenced in July under the Tajik Criminal Code Article 189 (“inciting . . . Read More

Turkmenistan repressing religious freedom through ‘fines, raids and torture’

October 4, 2017 Turkmenistan Central Asia, Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestants, Religious freedom, Turkmenabad, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Hero statues at Ashgabat Independence Monument. City of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Fines, raids and police brutality are some of the trademarks of Turkmenistan’s repeated violations of religious freedom, according to the latest report by regional news agency Forum 18. Protestant Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims have all been repeatedly repressed, according to the report, despite the UN reiterating its concerns. “Turkmen . . . Read More

Jharkhand the latest Indian state to pass ‘anti-conversion bill’

August 15, 2017 India Anti-conversion law, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, India, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Protestants, Ram Nath Kovind

The Indian state of Jharkhand passed an “anti-conversion bill” at its Assembly meeting on 12 August, despite demands that the bill should be sent to a select committee for further scrutiny. “This is not normal,” Indian journalist Anto Akkara told World Watch Monitor. “It shows the growing arrogance of the . . . Read More

India: another state expected to pass ‘anti-conversion law’

August 3, 2017 India Anti-conversion law, Chhattisgarh, Dalits, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Protestants

The north-east Indian state of Jharkhand has cleared the draft of an “anti-conversion bill” that could mean four-year prison sentences and 100,000 rupee fines (US$1,500) for those found to have forced another person to change religions, reports The New Indian Express. If what has been dubbed the “Religious Freedom Bill . . . Read More

Tajikistan: three-year sentence for pastor for ‘singing extremist songs’

July 27, 2017 Tajikistan Bakhrom Kholmatov, Khujand, Protestants, Sogd, Tajikistan

A Protestant church leader in Tajikistan has been handed a three-year sentence for “singing extremist songs in church and so inciting religious hatred,” reports regional news agency Forum 18. The agency reports that the Tajik authorities have also threatened family, friends and other church members if they reveal any details . . . Read More

Eritrean Christian women detained in ‘notoriously harsh prison’

June 30, 2017 Eritrea Asmara, Catholics, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Protestants, Sunni

Thirty-three Eritrean women, detained during a series of raids on churches by the military, are being held in a “notoriously harsh prison”, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). The women are among a growing number of Eritrean Christians arrested since the beginning of May. CSW says at least 170 have . . . Read More

Lawyer ordered to apologise or be barred from work after highlighting Sri Lanka’s intolerance

June 29, 2017 Sri Lanka Colombo, Lakshan Dias, Maithripala Sirisena, Protestants

The Sri Lankan government is facing criticism from human rights groups after ordering a lawyer to apologise and offer a retraction for comments he made in a TV interview, when he highlighted growing religious intolerance in the country. During the interview on 14 June, Lakshan Dias referenced a recent report . . . Read More

Iranian and Afghan Christian converts face deportation from Germany after ‘clueless’ questioning

January 16, 2017 Afghanistan, Apostasy, Asylum seekers, Baptism, Berlin, Converts, Denmark, Germany, Iran, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Protestants, Refugees, UK

An Iranian convert to Christianity attends a course in Berlin preparing him for baptism. Germany’s Ministry for Immigration and Refugees (BAMF) is rejecting many applications for asylum from Iranian and Afghan converts from Islam to Christianity, following “kangaroo court”-style hearings, according to a Berlin pastor. Rev. Gottfried Martens, who has . . . Read More

Pakistan bishops call for new census

November 28, 2016 Pakistan Catholics, Corruption, Marriage, Minorities, Pakistan, Protestants

Pakistani bishops have called for a new population census to help give a more accurate count of religious minorities, says . The last population census was in 1998. Up-to-date figures will help the government assign the right proportion of public service jobs to minorities – a provision designed to help . . . Read More

Uzbekistan releases jailed Christian convert after six years

November 23, 2016 Uzbekistan Baptists, Central Asia, Converts, Gulistan, Islamic extremism, Protestants, Soviet Union, Tohar Haydarov, Uzbekistan

Tohar Haydarov.International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians and Baptists Uzbek authorities have released a Christian convert six years into his 10-year jail sentence. Tohar Haydarov, 33, was released on parole on 8 November after serving six years and 10 months of his prison term. A judge had ruled he . . . Read More

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