Bangladesh: 91 year-old Christian murdered in suspected revenge attack

A 91-year-old Christian villager was drugged and killed in southern Bangladesh last month, in what is believed to have been a revenge attack on his family for giving evidence in a rape case against a Muslim man, Asia News reports. The killing of Malkam D’Costa at his home in the village of Padrishibpur, Barisal triggered angry protests among local Bangladeshi Christians, who say they are persecuted as a minority faith group in their Islamic-majority country.

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North Korea: Letter to advocacy group offers rare insight into life for Christians

Offering a rare glimpse into the life of Christians in secretive, isolated North Korea, advocacy group Open Doors UK recently shared a letter from an underground church leader who was exiled to do hard labor in a remote village without the possibility of returning home, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. North Korea is one of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians: Open Doors describes the level of persecution there as “extreme.”

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India: Police officer believed to have burned down church in Chhattisgarh state

Christians from India’s Koya tribal community in Kistaram village, Chhattisgarh state believe the head of their local police station is responsible for burning down their church in the early hours of 5 February, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports.

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Iran: Christians forced to have lessons with clerics to return to Islam

Iranian government authorities have ordered a group of ten Christian converts to undergo compulsory lessons with Muslim clerics who will try to make them see they were “misled” into the wrong faith and lead them back to Islam, Christian Persecution (CP) report.

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India: Hindu radicals attack two pastors in Haryana state

A group of Hindu extremists violently attacked two pastors in northern India’s Haryana state last month, accusing them of receiving foreign funding to forcibly convert Hindus to Christianity, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Persecution of Christians in India has increased dramatically since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in 2014.

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Algeria: Government threatening to shut down another Protestant church

Algerian government authorities are threatening to shut down yet another church from the Protestant Church of Algeria (Église Protestante d’Algérie– EPA) denomination, having closed 16 EPA churches already, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. While Algeria has the second-largest Christian community in North Africa, the Islamic government seeks to suppress the church in the name of protecting the Muslim faith.

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