India: Pastor arrested after Hindus storm his church

A local Christian pastor in India’s Karnataka state was charged with carrying out “malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings" last month, after Hindu militants stormed into his church and called on police to arrest him, Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) reports. Christians in India have been under increasing persecution since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in 2014.

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80-year old US Pastor abducted by gang in Haiti; “I’ve come to plead”

An 80-year old American citizen and pastor Jean Pierre Ferrer Michel remains in captivity after being abducted by gunmen in Haiti on October 3, nearly two weeks before 16 American missionaries and a Canadian were kidnapped together by a Haitian gang on the island, the Miami Herald (MH) reports. Both the US Embassy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have reportedly been contacted about Pastor Michel’s situation on account of his US citizenship.

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Hindu radicals violently attack Christian congregation, women seriously injured

Hindu extremists last week violently attacked a home prayer meeting attended by 50 Christians in India’s Chhattisgarh state, severely injuring a number of women and making one of them eat cow dung, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports. Persecution against Christians in India has intensified dramatically since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.

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Canada: Pastor spends second night in jail to stand for religious freedom

A pastor in Manitoba, Canada spent an additional night in prison last week after rejecting bail conditions that would have prevented him from preaching at his church, Fox News reports. Pastor Tobias Tissen who leads Manitoba’s Church of God Restoration was imprisoned for two days after violating a COVID-19 order which banned outdoor gatherings of more than five people.

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