Christian Persecution

Amid growing pressure on Protestant congregations, two leaders of the unregistered Pentecostal church Living Stones have been arrested and given fifteen-day prison terms, Protestant sources in the Azerbaijani capital Baku have told Keston News Service. The two - Yusuf Farkhadov and Kasym Kasymov - were detained in Sumgait, a town close to Baku, when police and National Security Ministry officers raided a prayer meeting last Friday (18 January) held in a private flat in the town's 9th micro-district. The two were given the two-week prison term under Article 310 of the Administrative Code, which punishes "petty hooliganism". "All they were doing was praying," one church member told Keston. They are serving their term in police detention cells in Sumgait.

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LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) -- “Advent in Afghanistan” may have been the largest public outreach by Christians to students in the history of Afghanistan. It began when Norm and Cher Nelson, from the radio ministry, Compassion Radio, accepted an invitation to take the experience of Christmas to 30,000 school children in 49 schools in an historic region of Afghanistan during late November and early December 2002.

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The isolated communist nation of North Korea remains atop the Open Doors "World Watch List" of countries where Christians are persecuted. The annual list ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith.

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In Orissa, India, where missionary Staines and his two sons were martyred, Gospel workers continue to face persecution.

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In a country where Christians are roundly despised and persecuted, Lao officials recently awarded certificates of recognition to two church groups for competing in local athletic events.

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