(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 […]
Unusual Ruling Frees Christian Couple from Prison in Iran
Judge rules participating in religious ‘home-group’ is not illegal.
May 17, 2023 By - Leave a Comment
Iran Releases Two Christians from Notorious Evin Prison
After denial of pardons, church leaders receive freedom.
October 30, 2022 By - Leave a Comment
(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.
October 16, 2022 By - Leave a Comment
(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 […]
China ‘Liquidates’ House Church as Part of Crackdown
Pastors and other workers arrested.
August 26, 2022 By - Leave a Comment
(Morning Star News) – Authorities in China on Aug. 19 officially “liquidated” an historical house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, as part of a crackdown on churches that refuse to join the state-controlled Three-Self Church, rights advocates said. The Church of Abundance, which began about 30 years ago, had been targeted as a “cult” that […]
Hmong Christians in Vietnam Suffering Severe Persecution
Federal authorities do nothing as local officials violate religion law.
July 25, 2022 By - 1 Comment
(Morning Star News) – Severe persecution of Hmong Christians is underway in Nghe An Province in Vietnam. In the central Vietnam province, officials vying with each other to create “Christian-free zones” operate “with no conscience or humanity,” as if they were in a different country than the one whose religious freedom measures they are violating, […]
Vietnam Floats Draconian New Religion Decrees
Proposed high fines, shutdowns and onerous regulations submitted for feedback.
June 14, 2022 By - Leave a Comment
HANOI, Vietnam (Morning Star News) – When the “Government of Vietnam” posted two draft religion decrees the first week of June, even ranking staff members of the Government Bureau of Religious Affairs were taken by surprise and encouraged religious leaders to strongly object. The decrees with ancillary documents were posted online for input by government departments […]
Online Crackdown Threatens Christians in China
Draconian measures contravene constitution, attorney says.
February 14, 2022 By - Leave a Comment
(Morning Star News) – Unregistered house churches that have relied on online gatherings and teaching to survive the COVID-19 pandemic and persecution will have that option taken away under draconian measures taking effect on March 1, sources said. Churches, seminaries and other ministries have been shaken by the government announcement on Dec. 20 that all […]
Christians Questioned in Criminal Investigation of Church in Vietnam
Attorney says intent must be shown for violation of law.
November 8, 2021 By - Leave a Comment
(Morning Star News) – Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam have questioned a pastoral couple and 11 congregation members in the criminal prosecution of a church facing wild accusations of starting a COVID-19 outbreak, sources said. Police in Go Vap District questioned the Rev. Vo Xuan Loan and her husband, the Rev. Phuong Van […]
Mixed Messages in Vietnam amid COVID-19
Following prior anti-church hype, communist government reacts responsibly to outbreak at Bible school.
July 30, 2021 By - Leave a Comment
(Morning Star News) – When several students at the Evangelical Church of Vietnam South’s (ECVN-S) Institute of Bible and Theology in Ho Chi Minh City developed coughs and fevers on July 20, church authorities immediately called the government health department. In rapid tests, some 290 of the 306 students and staff on the campus in […]
Evangelicals Take Brunt of COVID-19 Collateral Damage in Vietnam
Christians fear lasting effects of vilification of REM church.
June 15, 2021 By - Leave a Comment
(Morning Star News) – The vilification of the Revival Ekklesia Mission church in Vietnam has somewhat quieted, but its linking of evangelicals with COVID-19 is feared to have done long-lasting damage. State media, government agencies and the public in social media all reviled the church following the positive COVID-19 tests of two members of the […]