Asia

Protestant leaders accuse Indonesian government of perpetuating unrest and division

Protestant Church leaders in Indonesia have accused Jakarta of perpetuating unrest and division instead of addressing human rights violations in the country, International Christian Concern reports. The Protestant Church Council, which comprises the Indonesian Christian Church in Papua, the Kemah Injili Church, and the Evangelical Church in Indonesia, published its accusations in a June 2 statement.

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Arsonist burns down church in Indonesia

A church in Mamasa in the West Sulawesi province of Indonesia was burned down during the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, June 27, International Christian Concern reports. No one was in the Toraja Mamasa church building at the time of the arson, and the destruction was discovered as people arrived later in the morning to worship at the Sunday service.

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India persecution: Tribal animists force Christians to leave their homes

More than 50 Christians from 13 families have recently been forced to leave their villages and escape into the jungle of India’s Odisha state by tribal animists enraged at the believers’ faith in Christ, Morning Star News reported Friday. India ranks 10 on the US Open Doors Watch List of countries that persecute Christians.

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Pakistan court upholds life sentence for Christian accused of sending text messages against Islam

A court of appeals in Pakistan has upheld the life sentence of Zafar Bhatti, a Christian man who was convicted and imprisoned in 2017 for supposedly sending insulting text messages Islam’s prophet Mohammed, Morning Star News reports. Pakistan is one of nine nations the US has designated a “Country of Particular Concern” for severe violations of religious freedom.

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Report: Vietnam Christians suffer imprisonment, land confiscation by government

The California-based rights group Vietnam Human Rights Network (VHRN) has published its 2020-2021 report, asserting that Vietnamese Christians are suffering persecution, including imprisonment and land confiscation at the hands of the country’s communist government, ICC reports.

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Myanmar: Five civilians killed during increasing attacks on churches

As violent conflicts between the Burmese army and local forces in Myanmar continue unabated, five civilians sheltering in churches were recently killed as an increasing number of church buildings in Kayah and Shan states have been attacked in the fighting, International Christian Concern reports. Kayah state has one of the largest communities of Christians in Myanmar.

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Pakistan: Islamic extremists call for beheading of Christian couple acquitted in blasphemy case

Islamic extremists in Pakistan are publicly calling for the beheading of a Christian couple and their attorney after the Lahore High Court quashed the couple’s 2014 conviction for alleged blasphemy and ordered their release from prison, Morning Star News.

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