(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 […]
Seven Christians Arrested in Laos for Meeting for Worship
Local officials ban Christian services in village.
September 29, 2014 By -
Nightmare Continues for Family of Freed Prisoner of Conscience in China
Wife of Gao Zhisheng calls on U.S. to urge China to let him travel for medical treatment.
September 17, 2014 By -
(Morning Star News) – When Chinese authorities released Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng from prison on Aug.7, we didn’t hear anything from him, presumably because of the communist state’s one-year prohibition against him saying anything publicly that might “damage the reputation or interests of the state.” His family had telephone conversations with him, but […]
Lao Christians Charged with Murder after Praying for Sick Villager
Authorities initially arrest pastor, four others over burial dispute.
June 29, 2014 By -
(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 […]
Christians in Vietnam Church Center Beaten, Locked Up in Massive Raid
Authorities show brazen disregard for law, religious rights.
June 24, 2014 By -
(Morning Star News) – Blaring police loudspeakers awoke Bible school students at a Mennonite church center in southern Vietnam at about 11 p.m. the night of June 9, a prelude to a night of violence and detention that would seriously injure 20 people. Police called for the owner of the compound in Binh Duong Province […]
Religious Rights Violations in Indonesia Expected to Continue as Elections Approach
Islamic extremists said to be preparing to close more churches.
June 16, 2014 By -
JAKARTA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – The average of 56 incidents of religious rights violations churches suffered annually in Indonesia over the past seven years is not expected to abate following elections next month, sources said. Jakarta Christian Communications Forum records show churches suffered 392 incidents of religious rights violations, mainly closures and attacks, from 2007 […]
Authorities in Vietnam Incite Villagers to Attack Christian Converts
Ethnic minorities targeted in rural areas.
April 15, 2014 By -
(Morning Star News) – Inciting social hostility appears to have become a key way government officials in rural Vietnam try to contain, or at least slow, the growth of Christianity among ethnic minorities, sources said. Ethnic Hmong Christians were the targets of two incidents the past two months in Vietnam’s northwest. Village officials in Son […]
Christian Converts in Laos Told to Leave Faith or Face Expulsion
Eight families under threat of being expelled from village.
March 20, 2014 By -
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 […]
Anti-Christian Violence Detailed in Hearing Calling for Filling of Religious Freedom Post
Author calls Orissa violence worst pogrom against Christians of 21st century.
February 11, 2014 By -
LOS ANGELES, February 11, 2014 (Morning Star News) – The worst anti-Christian pogrom of the 21st century has come not from Islamic extremists but from Hindu nationalists in India, an expert told a hearing in which U.S. President Barack Obama was challenged to quickly fill a key religious freedom post. John L. Allen, Jr., author […]
Beleagured Church in Indonesia Forced Out of its Building
Threat of violence from Islamic extremist group leads to closure of newly opened facility.
January 18, 2014 By -
LOS ANGELES (Morning Star News) – A small church in Central Java, Indonesia that has struggled for more than a decade to keep its worship facility celebrated a re-opening last month, only to see it shut before Christmas due to protests from hard-line Islamists. The 41 Christians of the rural church in Pepanthan Dermolo village, Jepara […]
Raid on Bible Society of Malaysia Legally Unfounded, Critics Say
Bibles seized, BSM leaders temporarily detained.
January 13, 2014 By -
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Morning Star News) – Calling this month’s raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) “a flagrant violation of religious liberty” via his website, the director of a Christian research institute in Malaysia said the agency that arrested two BSM officials has produced no evidence that the BSM violated any law. Aided by […]