LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A Christian who spent nearly 11 years in solitary confinement over a false allegation of desecrating the Koran was set to walk free after a high court this week overturned his conviction, sources said. The Lahore High Court on Tuesday (Dec. 15) ruled that prosecutors failed to prove the case […]
Christian in Pakistan Acquitted of Blasphemy after 11 Years in Prison
Catholic prosecuted due to influence of angry Muslim mob.
December 18, 2020 By -
Pastor in India Locked in Room and Left to Die
Hindu nationalists beat him and steal his vehicle.
December 10, 2020 By -
HYDERABAD, India (Morning Star News) – The last thing pastor Shelton Vishwanathan recalled happening before he lost consciousness in a village in northeast India was Hindu extremists threatening to offer him as a sacrifice to their god as they belted his head. “They punched my back and told me that they would offer me as a […]
Long Ostracized Christian Withstands New Level of Persecution in India
Chhattisgarh a growing flash point for violations of religious freedom.
December 8, 2020 By -
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Representatives of eight village councils in central India first summoned a new Christian to give him an ultimatum in October. They interrupted a church service on Oct. 18 asking for Sattar Singh Markam. “I was conducting the church service when some men came to call Markam and asked him to […]
Police in Pakistan Find Christian Girl Chained in Kidnapper’s Home
Separately, Muslim suitor kills young woman for refusing him and Islam.
December 6, 2020 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A Catholic family’s five-month search for their 12-year-old daughter who was kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam and married to a 45-year-old Muslim in Faisalabad, Pakistan, ended on Saturday (Dec. 5) when police found her chained in her abductor’s house, sources said. The discovery came on the heels of the killing […]
Christians in Hiding after Brutal Mob Attack in Central India
Assault sends 21 guests at dedication celebration to various hospitals.
December 3, 2020 By -
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Several families are in hiding after tribal animists in Chhattisgarh state, India threatened to kill them for reporting a mob attack to police last week that sent 21 Christians to hospitals, sources said. Armed with bamboo sticks, iron rods, bows and arrows and iron sickles, the large mob at 1 […]
Parents Denied Custody of Allegedly Kidnapped Daughter
Marriage of minor invalidated, but forcible conversion issue unresolved.
November 23, 2020 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A high court in Pakistan on Monday (Nov. 23) ruled that a 13-year-old Catholic girl allegedly abducted and forcibly converted and married to a Muslim man must remain in a government shelter home until she reaches age 18, sources said. The court failed to return Arzoo Raja of Karachi, Sindh […]
Court in Pakistan Nullifies Christian Girl’s Marriage to Muslim
Catholic 13-year-old sent back to shelter home.
November 10, 2020 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A high court in Sindh Province, Pakistan on Monday (Nov. 9) invalidated the marriage of a 13-year-old Catholic girl to a Muslim alleged to have abducted and forcibly married her, sources said. The court has yet to address the alleged forcible conversion of Arzoo Raja to Islam. Justices ruled that […]
Christian Girl in Pakistan Recovered from Kidnapper
Police arrest Muslim who allegedly forced her to convert and marry.
November 3, 2020 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Police in Karachi, Pakistan on Monday (Nov. 2) recovered a 13-year-old Christian girl and arrested the Muslim accused of abducting and forcibly marrying and converting her, sources said. The action came hours after the Sindh High Court, under pressure from a rising tide of protests over its previous validation of […]
Judge in Pakistan Validates Marriage of Muslim to 13-Year-Old
Catholic girl kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam, family says.
October 28, 2020 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A 13-year-old Christian girl kidnapped by a Muslim man in Pakistan leapt toward her mother when she spotted her outside a courtroom on Tuesday (Oct. 27), but her family was not permitted to enter as a judge validated the 45-year-old abductor’s Islamic “marriage” to the child, sources said. Refusing to […]
Christian Girl, 13, Forcibly Married, Converted in Pakistan, Father Says
Kidnapper’s brothers are police officials protecting him, rights advocate says.
October 26, 2020 By -
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – Police in Karachi, Pakistan are ignoring the kidnapping and forcible conversion to Islam of a 13-year-old Christian girl by a 45-year-old Muslim whose two brothers are police officials, sources said. Ali Azhar, a neighbor of the victim’s Catholic family, abducted Arzoo Raja on Oct. 13, and her family went to […]