Crackdown on Lao Churches Continues

The leader of a group of churches in Laos notified Christian Aid today that Lao authorities confiscated the Saybangnoun Church Saturday after Christians refused to surrender the facility to them Saturday noon. The church was located in Songkorn district, Savannakhet Province. The Christians gathered and worshiped in tears outside their confiscated church building Sunday.

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Pervez Masih to Appear Before Court (Pakistan)

Pervez Masih, a Pakistani Christian schoolmaster being accused of blasphemy against Muhammad, is scheduled to appear before the Lahore High Court on Monday, October 8 to appeal for bail. Since his arrest on April 1, 2001, Pervez has been tortured and imprisoned in a 6-ft X 4-ft cell in Sialkot jail. The daytime temperature in the cell exceeds 50 degrees centigrade. He is not allowed to come out of his room and walk. Once a week, he is taken out to meet his relatives. He sleeps on the hard floor on a mat next to the toilet. In May he told visitors that police beat him, demanding that he convert to Islam.

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Red Cross Visits Christian Workers Faced With Execution

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS) -- Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have visited in Kabul eight Western and Sixteen Afghan aid workers, who face possible execution for allegedly spreading Christianity in war ravaged Afghanistan. The Sunday visit was the first contact the prisoners had with the outside world, since being detained three weeks ago under the Taliban regime's strict interpretation of Islamic law.

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