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Prison

• Sentence Upheld for Pastor Youssef Ourahmane

  

  Pastor Youssef Ourahmane is a senior pastor and vice president of the Église Protestante d'Algérie (EPA). In March 2023, he was charged with organizing an unauthorized religious assembly and sentenced to two years in prison, along with a fine of 100,000 dinars (approximately $1,000 CAD). Following an appeal of the verdict, the pastor's conviction was upheld, but his sentence was reduced to one year in prison.

• High Security for Trial

  

  The case of Chen Wensheng was heard by the Hengyang City Shigu District People's Court on April 18th. However, when Chen's relatives and friends arrived that morning to attend the trial, they found about 40 black-clad special force officers guarding the entrance of the court building. In addition, the entire street was blocked off under the pretext of performing a "drill" so that any supporters could be prevented from attending the trial. Despite aggressive actions by the police, Chen's supporters are reported to have demonstrated "patience and calmness."

• Verdict Against Christian Elders

  

  In November 2021, Wu Jiannan and Hao Ming were arrested on suspicion of fraud. On March 15th, 2023, after spending more than two years in detention, the two Christian elders were released on bail pending their trials.

• Prison Sentence for Alleged Forced Conversions

  

  A Christian couple was recently sentenced to prison after accusations were made that they had been involved in pressuring others to convert to Christianity. Pastor Ramesh Ahirwar and his wife Sakshi are from the village of Vivek Nagar in Madhya Pradesh. A man had accused the couple of abducting his estranged wife Sapna (who also happens to be Pastor Ramesh's niece) before allegedly pressuring her to convert, holding the woman against her will, and not allowing her to return home to be with him. He also purported that the Christian couple offered to build Sapna a home and give her money each month. The complainant, Abhishek, further claimed that the Christians attempted to convert him as well, offering him a job in return.

• Overseas Conversion Leads to Prison Sentence

  

  For some time, an Iranian woman named Laleh Saati lived in Malaysia and, while there, she was baptized as a Christian. Not wanting to return to Iran, Laleh applied for asylum, but the process continued to drag on without resolution. Frustrated with the delay, as well as missing her elderly parents, she returned to Iran in 2017.

• New Look at Evidence Against a Long-Imprisoned Christian

  

  In 2002, Anwar Kenneth received a court verdict sentencing him to death, purportedly for defending Christianity in the days following the September 11th attacks on the New York World Trade Centre. He had written a letter in which he defended his Christian faith and, as a part of that, expressed his belief that Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was not a prophet of God.

• Three Christians Detained

  

  Vietnamese police detained three members of an independent house church on March 6th. After being held for three days, the detained Christian men were eventually released. Although the three believers are from Dak Lak province, they had been arrested while working for a furniture manufacturer in Dong Xoai, which is located several hours away from their hometown.

• Detained Preacher Subjected to Abuse and Delays

  

  The family of Chang Hao is calling for prayer after learning that conditions in prison have significantly worsened for the disabled Christian man. During a previous visit with his lawyer, Chang described the harsh treatment he was receiving from prison officials. Those concerns were brought to the attention of the prison authorities but, according to Chang, this disclosure resulted in even harsher conditions.

• Christian Sentenced to Life in Prison for Alleged Blasphemy

  

  On March 18th, 2022, Fansan Shahid was taken from his home in Lahore and charged with blasphemy. The charges arose after the Christian man purportedly commented on photos of suicide bombings that occurred in Sri Lanka. As the attackers appeared to be Muslims, his accuser alleged that Fansan's social media comment insulted the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

• Pastor John Cao Released After Seven Years in Prison

  

  Originally from Hunan province, Pastor John Cao is a permanent resident of the United States and also happens to be married to an American citizen. Before his arrest, he served as a missionary in Myanmar's Wa State, building schools and caring for impoverished people in the region. As part of his ministry work, Pastor John frequently crossed the border between China and Myanmar. The Christian leader was able to continue his ministry activities for three years without encountering any problems from the authorities.