Officials in Egypt Abet Kidnappers of Christian Woman, Father Says

Muslim Brotherhood ring behind abduction, sources say.

(Christian Daily International) – Authorities in Egypt have abetted the kidnapping and forcible conversion to Islam of a Coptic Christian woman, according to a widely published expert on the Middle East and Islam. Irene Ibrahim Shehata, a 21-year-old medical student at Asyut National University, disappeared on Jan. 22 between mid-term exams in Asyut, according to […]

Christian Refugee from Iran Faces Possible Expulsion from Turkey

Convert from Islam was persecuted for his faith in his country.

(Morning Star News) – An Iranian Christian convert faces possible expulsion from Turkey and a three-year prison sentence on a charge of spreading “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” according to religious freedom advocates. The government of Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan continued its crackdown on expatriate Christians with the Jan. 29 arrest of […]

Man Slain at Catholic Church in Turkey was Muslim, Official Says

ISIS claims responsibility for shooting.

The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for a shooting at a Catholic Church service in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday (Jan. 28) that killed a Muslim citizen, news agencies reported. Authorities in Turkey have detained the two gunmen, both foreigners, who targeted a Turkish Muslim attending the service at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in […]

Church in Gaza Remains under Threat after Shooting Deaths

Parish compound suffered prior attacks, relative of trapped Christians says.

(Christian Daily International) – The killing of an elderly woman and her daughter in Gaza City’s Holy Family Church on Saturday (Dec. 16) was the sixth attack by Israeli Defense Forces on the compound since war in Gaza broke out, a relative told The Washington Post. Following the IDF sniper fire that Catholic church sources […]

Anti-Christian Incidents in Israel Condemned

Hostilities against evangelicals seen during Feast of Booths.

(Morning Star News) – The uptick in anti-Christian acts in Israel that began last December continued last week when police arrested five suspects accused of harassing Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City. Four adults and one minor were arrested Wednesday (Oct. 4), charged with assault for allegedly spitting at Christians and their sacred sites in Jerusalem, […]

Unusual Ruling Frees Christian Couple from Prison in Iran

Judge rules participating in religious ‘home-group’ is not illegal.

(Morning Star News) – Iranian authorities released two Christian leaders from prison last week after a judge broke with common judicial practice in the country and ruled that home church participation was not illegal, sources said. Throwing out a 2020 conviction, a judge in Branch 34 of the Appeals Court in Tehran on May 9 […]

Iran Releases Yousef Nadarkhani, Other Christians from Prison

Pastor initially sentenced to death freed in annual tradition.

(Morning Star News) – Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, once sentenced to death in Iran for apostasy, was the third Christian convert recently released from prison as part of the government’s annual amnesty marking the anniversary of the 1979 revolution. Originally sentenced to death in 2010 for leaving Islam, Nadarkhani was freed on Feb. 26, following the […]

Iran Releases Two Christians from Notorious Evin Prison

After denial of pardons, church leaders receive freedom.

(Morning Star News) – Two Christians imprisoned in Iran for their church leadership roles were released a few days after a fire broke out in Tehran’s Evin Prison on Oct. 15, but rights advocates were mystified about why they were freed. Pastor Naser Navard Goltapeh, who had spent two months in solitary confinement, was released […]

Iran Punishes Christians with Harsh Prison Sentences

House churches considered threat to national security.

(Morning Star News) – When authorities in Iran summoned a Christian couple in Tehran on Aug. 13, the house-church members supposed it concerned the return of their confiscated belongings. Instead, Homayoun Zhaveh and his wife Sara Ahmadi were detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, notorious for its harsh treatment of people deemed political enemies of the […]

Killer of Coptic Priest in Egypt Sentenced to Death

Convict said to have shouted jihadist slogan as he stabbed clergyman.

(Morning Star News) – The convicted killer of Archbishop Arsanious Wadid in Alexandria, Egypt was sentenced to death on Saturday (June 11), according to Copts-United. Nehru Abdel Moneim Tawfiq was sentenced to death after a long session in which the 22nd District Alexandria Criminal Court headed by Waheed Sabry watched surveillance camera video of the […]