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Prison

• Four Christians Jailed on False Charges

  

  Four Christians, including two pastors, were jailed on false charges of conversion activities in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district on February 19th. According to the complaint, Raju Bhalavi and his wife Ruth had thrown a "mutton party" in their home village of Udama. Denny Paul and Cybus Ivne, who had been visiting from the neighbouring state of Maharashtra, were among the guests.

• Pastor Hao Zhiwei Sentenced to Eight Years

  

  In July 2019, Pastor Hao Zhiwei was arrested for allegedly swindling money by collecting church offerings. Two other Christian women were also arrested at that time. The authorities alleged that the house church, located in China's Hubei province, was illegal. Therefore, any money collected to support it was considered to have been done unlawfully (read more).

• Prison Sentence to be Reviewed by the Supreme Court

  

  On June 24th of 2016, 30 intelligence police agents raided an engagement party near Tehran, Iran. Everyone who attended the celebration was detained, including three visiting Christians from Azerbaijan. Most were released from custody, except for the three Azeri believers and Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, whom the authorities considered the leader of the Christian gathering. For more details on this raid, go to this page.

• Church Members Sentenced to Prison

  

  The Xuncheng Reformed Church in Taiyuan, China, has faced numerous raids over the past year. On December 30th, 2020, while Pastor An Yankui was hosting a Bible study in his home, security officers raided the house and forcefully restrained him (view this page). During his detainment, the pastor served a 15-day administrative detention.

• Christians Jailed by Village Mayor

  

  Three Christians in San Pedro Chimaltepec, a Mexican town located in eastern Oaxaca state, were jailed by the local mayor after refusing to contribute monetarily to an annual religious festival. Many residents of Oaxaca state practise a "traditionalist" mix of Catholic and indigenous religions involving rituals in which all villagers are expected to participate. The three Christian men, who are all members of the Emmanuel Mission Center Church, believed that it would be wrong for them to contribute to a festival that honours idols.

• Death Penalty for Longtime Prisoner; Bail for Another

  

  On January 3rd, a judge at the Rawalpindi District Court in Pakistan ruled to change a Christian pastor's sentence of life imprisonment to the death penalty. Zafar Bhatti has been imprisoned on charges of blasphemy since July 2012. After five years, he was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The charges arise from an alleged text message, yet Zafar denies that the phone in question was even registered to his name. For more information on the ordeal facing this Pakistani pastor, view these reports.

• Court Hearing Postponed for Accused Christians

  

  Pastor Salah Chalah is the senior pastor of the largest Protestant church in Algeria, where governmental restrictions in opposition to Christianity have escalated to an alarming degree. As a result, he was recently summoned to appear in court, along with three other Christians, and is now facing multiple charges. The court hearing was scheduled to take place on December 5th (read more). However, on January 10th, new details emerged indicating that the hearing has been postponed until January 16th.

• Pastor Receives Fine

  

  In July of this year, an Algerian Christian referred to as "Ahmed Beghal" (name changed due to security concerns) was sentenced to six months in prison and fined 100,000 dinars ($920 CAD) for "shaking the faith of a Muslim," along with printing Christian literature and distributing Bibles. Ahmed denied all charges against him and appealed his sentence.

• Pastor Sentenced to Prison for Evangelism

  

  Pastor Keshav Raj Acharya of the Abundant Harvest Church in Pokhara, Nepal, was initially arrested and detained in March 2020 after a video was released in which he allegedly claimed that the COVID-19 virus could be healed through prayer. The pastor denies ever uploading the video. He was initially released on bail but then re-arrested and charged with "outraging religious feelings" and "attempting to convert." Pastor Keshav was detained in a remote area of the country with restricted access to transportation.

• Christian Prisoner Acquitted

  

  Blasphemy accusations have been used as weapons against Christians in Pakistan for many years. The world's attention was most recently drawn to this situation through the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was accused in 2009 and sentenced to death. After finally being acquitted and released ten years later, Asia was forced to secretly flee the country.