NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – A Christian couple in India convicted of forcible conversion despite lack of evidence and sentenced to five years in prison has won bail while they appeal, sources said. Pastor Jose Pappachen, 58, and his wife Sheeja Pappachen, 57, were released on Feb. 19 after a Sessions Court in Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar […]
Christian Couple in India Convicted of ‘Forced Conversion’ Wins Bail
Sentenced to five years in prison, pastor and wife appeal.
Priest Kidnapped and Slain in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Clergyman’s body found on Ash Wednesday.
ABUJA, Nigeria (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A Catholic priest was kidnapped on Tuesday night (March 4) in Kaduna state, Nigeria where Fulani herdsmen and other Islamic extremist terrorists have been active, and his corpse was found the next day, sources said. The Rev. Sylvester Okechukwu, priest of St. Mary Catholic Church in Tachira, Kaura […]
Christian in Pakistan Beaten, Shaved and Paraded through Village
Little hope for justice seen for humiliated laborer.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Muslim landowners in Pakistan abducted a Christian laborer, shaved his head and facial hair, blackened his face and paraded him on the back of a donkey for allegedly stealing wood from their property, his brother said. On the assumption that impoverished Catholics in Muslim-majority Pakistan have little chance […]
Christian Mother in Pakistan Abducted, Forcibly Converted/Wedded
Married Muslim co-worker still threatening her husband.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A Muslim in Pakistan who twice abducted a Christian mother raped her, fraudulently converted her to Islam and fabricated an Islamic marriage, sources said. The suspect, Muhammad Asif Sadiq, is still threatening her husband, demanding that he return his “wife” and withdraw charges against him, said Asif Maih, […]
Assassinated Christian Lawmaker in Pakistan Honored
Shahbaz Bhatti slain by Taliban gunmen in 2011.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Christian rights activists and church leaders in Pakistan vowed to step up efforts to protect persecuted Christians as they honored the memory of assassinated politician Shahbaz Bhatti on Sunday (March 2), the 14th anniversary of his death. Bhatti, an ardent advocate for a diverse, multicultural and multireligious society, […]
Kidnapped Girl in Pakistan Who Escaped Is Abducted Again
Suspect and accomplice seize her at gunpoint, father says.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A Muslim in Pakistan who kidnapped and forcibly converted a Christian girl who later escaped has abducted her again, her father said. Salman Masih said that Arsalan Ali again kidnapped his 15-year-old daughter, Muskan Salman, as the family visited their remote hometown, Tando Ghulam Ali in Badin District, […]
Christian Stabbed in Attack on Evangelists in Uganda
Hardline Muslims also tear up their Bibles.
NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Hardline Muslims in eastern Uganda on Feb. 15 beat and stabbed an evangelist after he and his team led a Muslim widow to Christ during open-air gospel preaching, sources said. Robert Kasozi, a 39-year-old evangelist also known as Mulokole, was stabbed in the stomach, and three co-workers also were beaten […]
National TV Show Dares to Portray ‘Blasphemy’ Violence in Pakistan
Entertainment company lauded for unprecedented treatment of taboo subject.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – Church leaders and others in Pakistan lauded the producers and cast of a TV drama for risking their lives to broadcast an unprecedented, national media portrayal of the violent injustice resulting from blasphemy laws. In the final episode of Hum TV’s drama series, “Tan Man Neel o Neel […]
Christian in Pakistan Jailed for 17 Months Wins Bail
Now 18, Akash Karamat accused of blasphemy in three cases.
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – An 18-year-old Christian in Pakistan imprisoned for more than 17 months on blasphemy charges was expected to be released on bail next week, his lawyer said. Akash Karamat had won bail on Dec. 19 for one of three blasphemy cases filed against him, and judges last week granted […]
Opposition Arises against Church in Indonesia
Banner opposing construction appears unexpectedly.
SURABAYA, Indonesia (Morning Star News) – A church active in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi Province for two years began facing unexpected opposition to proposed construction of a larger worship building this month, sources said. The Toraja Christian Church of Lanraki in Paccerakkang village, which has worshipped at a member’s modest home for two years, applied in […]