Local Officials in Laos Stop Worship, Expel Christians

Family barred from returning to village.

(Morning Star News) – A month after a Christian family in Salavan Province, Laos lost their home and were expelled for their faith, officials in another province on Sunday (Oct. 1) disrupted the worship service of a house church and threatened to arrest them, according to a rights group. In Savannakhet Province’s Khampou village, Assaphone […]

Pastor in Laos Was Tortured and Killed, Sources Say

Christian was leader of officially recognized church.

(Morning Star News) – The body of a pastor with an officially recognized church in Laos was found last month with signs that he was tortured and killed for his faith, area sources said. Christian leaders and police in central Laos’ Khammouane Province believe Pastor Seetoud, who went by a single name, was killed for […]

Police in Laos Arrest Grandmother, Three Other Christians During Worship

Christianity considered enemy of the country, rights group says.

(Morning Star News) – Police in Laos arrested a grandmother and three other Christians while they were worshipping last month, according to an advocacy group. Raiding a church service in Keovilai village, Vilabouly District in Savannakhet Province, local police on Nov. 18 arrested the 78-year-old woman identified as Grandma Bounlam and three men identified by […]

Pastor in Laos Stabbed to Death

Church planter refused orders to stop proclaiming Christ.

(Morning Star News) – A pastor in northern Laos who disregarded officials’ orders to stop preaching Christ has been stabbed to death, sources said. A prison official identified only as Wansai entered the home of pastor Singkeaw Wongkongpheng in Na-ang village, Chomphet District, Luang Prabang Province on the night of Sept. 8, relatives told advocacy […]

Court in Laos Fines, Sentences Pastors to Prison for Praying for Sick Woman Who Died

Authorities try to stop spread of Christianity by abusing law, group says.

(Morning Star News) – A pastor and four other church leaders in Laos were convicted last week of being “illegal doctors” because they prayed for a sick woman who later died. The People’s Court of Savannakhet Province on Feb. 12 sentenced the five Christians to nine months in prison and a fine of 500,000 kips […]

Seven Christians Arrested in Laos for Meeting for Worship

Local officials ban Christian services in village.

(Morning Star News) – Local officials in Laos arrested seven Christians for meeting for worship on Sunday (Sept. 28), according to a rights group. The chief of Boukham village, in Atsaphangthong District, Savannakhet Province, along with village security officials and police arrested the Christians as they ate lunch after meeting for worship in the home […]

Lao Christians Charged with Murder after Praying for Sick Villager

Authorities initially arrest pastor, four others over burial dispute.

(Morning Star News) – Eager to stop the spread of Christianity, authorities in a village in Laos have charged a pastor and four church members with murder after they prayed for a sick woman who later died, area sources said. The deceased, a mother of eight grown children in Savannakhet Province identified only by her […]

Christian Converts in Laos Told to Leave Faith or Face Expulsion

Eight families under threat of being expelled from village.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – More than two dozen Christian converts in a village in southern Laos could be expelled for their faith if government officials fail to keep local authorities from violating their constitutional rights, according to an advocacy group. The Christians from eight families in Natahall village, in Savannakhet Province’s Phin District, were […]

Lao Officials Threaten Christians in Three Villages with Expulsion

Villagers call them ‘pigs and dogs’ at public meeting.

LOS ANGELES (Morning Star News) – Local authorities in Laos are threatening Christians in three villages with expulsion unless they renounce their faith, with residents in one village calling the converts “pigs and dogs,” according to an advocacy organization. In a public meeting of Christians and others in Huay village of Atsaphangthong District, Savannakhet Province, local […]

Christians in Laos Resist Severe Pressures to Recant Faith

Communist authorities threaten expulsion from villages.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – In Lao villages far from the international community’s eye, Christians who refuse to take part in traditions involving worship of ancestral spirits face severe pressures.   Authorities in southern Laos recently tried to force more than 200 Christians in six villages in Savannakhet Province to convert back to traditional, ethnic […]