Pastor in Nepal Seeks to Change Prison Term into Fine

Order of incarceration issued more than a month ago.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – More than a month after the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya to serve one year in prison under a law against proselytizing, he seeks to convert the sentence into a fine. He won’t be able to seek the change until March, though, and the Supreme Court […]

Pastor in Nepal Fears Conviction Sets Ominous Precedent

Supreme Court upholds prison sentence and fine.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – As he awaits prison after a wrongful conviction for proselytizing, Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya fears his case will set a precedent for authorities in Nepal to incarcerate other Christians, he said. The 35-year-old pastor said he fears police and judiciary will cite his case as an example to send Christians […]

Young Christian Family Forms amid Persecution in Nepal

Couple driven together by Hindu hostility toward their faith.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – A young father knows the intensity of Hindu opposition to Christianity in his native Nepal – it temporarily took his newborn son from him and has left his young family homeless for nearly two years. Having moved in with his parents after the birth of his son, Pawan (surname withheld […]

Pastor in Nepal Sentenced to Prison under Proselytism Law

Statute violates religious freedom standards, leaders say.

NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – A pastor in Nepal forced to pay exorbitant bail amounts for three separate cases was sentenced to two years in prison on Nov. 30 under a law against proselytizing, sources said. The Dolpa District Court sentenced 33-year-old pastor Keshab Raj Acharya of Abundant Harvest Church, Pokhara to two years in […]

Campaign Launched to Discredit Christian Groups in Nepal

Hard-line Hindus seek to revoke registration of Christian charities.

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – In a ploy to revoke registration of Christian organizations and shrink their influence, Hindu extremists in Nepal have forged a document as if from Christian groups portraying them as seeking ethnic divisions to gain converts, sources said. The document falsely attributed to the Nepal Christian Society and the National Churches Fellowship […]

Local Officials in Nepal Order Halt to Construction of Church Building

Hindus exploit legal confusion to level allegations against Christians.

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – Municipal officials in Nepal ordered a church to stop construction of a worship hall after local Hindus objected to it, sources said. Some of the area Hindus had threatened relatives who became Christians after pastor Manish Bohra began proclaiming Christ in Galkot in January. When a small church began […]

Pastor in Nepal Jailed for More than Three Months Released on Bail

Charges violate religious freedom rights, advocates say.

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – A pastor arrested in Nepal in March on charges that violate religious rights, and then re-arrested moments after release in April, was released after paying an exorbitant bail this month, sources said. First arrested on March 23 on charges of spreading false information for saying prayers can heal the […]

Pastor in Nepal Re-Arrested on New Series of Charges to Keep Him in Jail, Sources Say

Church leader transferred to remote facility known for rights violations.

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – A pastor arrested in Nepal in March on charges of giving false information for saying prayer could heal COVID-19 was released last month – and then immediately re-arrested on new charges, sources said. Moments after releasing pastor Keshab Raj Acharya on bail on April 8, police re-arrested him on charges […]

Police in Nepal Falsely Charge Pastors with Violating Coronavirus Lockdown, Sources Say

Cases of using COVID-19 as pretext for arresting church leaders rises to three.

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – Police arrested two pastors in Nepal on Saturday (March 28), falsely charging them with holding worship services amid the Himalayan country’s lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, sources said. Police jumped over a locked gate and intruded into the Nissi Church building in Surkhet District, Karnali Province as […]

Police in Nepal Arrest Pastor for Touting Healing Prayer amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Church leader jailed after video appears of him encouraging congregation.

HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – Police in Nepal arrested a Christian pastor this week, accusing him of giving false information about COVID-19 by saying Christian prayer could bring healing from the disease, sources said. Pastor Keshab Acharya, 32, was taken into custody on Monday (March 23) from his home in Pokhara, Gandaki Pradesh Province, […]