Release International

News and prayer points each fortnight on persecuted Christians around the world. 

1. IRAN

Two Iranian Christians facing possible execution for leaving Islam have been set free – but sources report more than 40 others remain behind bars.

Iran’s church is encouraged by the release of Mahmood Matin Azad and Arash Basirat: a tribunal has decided charges of apostasy against them were invalid. But Release sources say 43 other Muslim-background believers are being held across Iran.

Concern is growing as Iran’s parliament debates an apostasy bill which would impose a mandatory death sentence on anyone leaving Islam. Parliament approved the bill and the Guardian Council, its next stop, is unlikely to veto that decision.

Details for most Muslim-background believers in detention are sketchy. But Middle East Concern reports that three Christians were detained in Urumieh last month – including an Assyrian minister named Shroder and a man called Sobhan.

In August, the authorities arrested Ramtin Soodmand in Mashhad – they hanged his father, Pastor Hossein Soodmand, in 1990 for leaving Islam. And Shahin Zanboori was seized as he shared his faith in Arak. Secret police reportedly broke his arm and leg under interrogation and hanged him from the ceiling to force him to name other Christians.

The last remaining hope is that international pressure may persuade Iran to reconsider the apostasy bill. Mahmood and Arash’s release followed a statement by the European Union expressing concern over the proposed legislation.

(Sources: Adnkronos International; Amnesty International; Compass Direct; Middle East Concern)

§         Praise God for the release of Mahmood Matin Azad and Arash Basirat – and pray for the release of the 43 other Muslim-background believers currently in detention. Pray the apostasy bill will be derailed.

§         Visit www.releaseinternational.org/prisoners to download Release’s new one-minute viral video on Iran and find out how you can campaign against the apostasy bill.

2. INDIA

Violence continues to escalate as extremists extend their anti-Christian rampage across 12 Indian states.

Almost two months after violence erupted in Orissa’s Kandhamal district, Hindu militants in Sindhipnakha village murdered two Christians and burned almost 400 homes.

On the same day, an 80-year-old Christian, Lalji Nayak was killed with an axe in Hrudangia village. Among the 14 others injured in the raid were Nayak’s wife and brother. And at least two other Christians were found dead in a river in the district. There are also reports of ‘low-intensity’ bomb attacks on Christians in three relief camps in Kandhamal.

Latest reports from the All India Christian Council (AICC) say that at least 57 people have been confirmed killed and more than 18,000 injured since violence first broke out. Tens of thousands are homeless.

The AICC reports incidents of anti-Christian violence in Bihar, New Delhi, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.
 
News agency Compass reports that thousands of paramilitaries have been drafted into Orissa by both state and central governments. But the central government is still not satisfied that the Orissa authorities are doing enough – and nor are India’s Christians.

Nearly 15,000 Christians took part in a peace march on October 2 – the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. Among the Hindu leaders addressing the marchers at Rajghat, Gandhi’s final resting place, was Hindu scholar Swami Agnivesh. ‘The very killers of Mahatma Gandhi are the same killers of Christians in Orissa […],’ he said.

Violence erupted in Orissa’s Kandhamal district after the murder on August 23 of Hindu extremist leader Laxmanananda Saraswati. Maoists have since said they killed him.

(Sources: All India Christian Council; Compass Direct; The Times of India; VOM Canada)

§         Pray for more concerted action by the Indian authorities to rein in the violence.

§         Ask God to bless and strengthen His church in India in these testing times.

3.  CHINA

A prominent church leader hounded out of his Beijing home during the Olympics has been able to worship with his congregation for the first time in months.

Pastor Zhang ‘Bike’ Mingxuan and his wife Xie Fenlang returned to the Chinese capital on September 21 after spending three weeks on ‘forced vacation’ in Hebei in the company of government officials. Before that, they had been forced out of their home and their orphanage had been shut down.

Their troubles did not end with their return to Beijing. The authorities cut off the water and electricity supply to the flat they rented. Their landlord was threatened and told to throw them out. Officials told Pastor Bike he was not welcome in the city, according to China Aid.

After five days of harassment, Pastor Bike lodged a formal complaint with the Chaoyang district Public Security Bureau (PSB). After consulting the Religious Affairs Bureau and the city government, officials told Pastor Bike he was free to lead a house church and his flat’s power and water supply would be reconnected.

(Source: China Aid)

§         Thank God that Pastor Bike and his wife have had assurances they can live in Beijing and worship in peace now. Pray that officials will be true to their word.

§         Pray that officials will leave house churches in peace now the Olympics are over.

4.  VIETNAM

After months of demonstrations and prayer vigils over confiscated church land in Hanoi, the authorities have finally snapped and bulldozed an historic church building.

Peaceful prayer vigils to demand the return of land confiscated by the Communists in the 1950s have been held since late last year and are now drawing thousands of protesters. There have been large gatherings at a site on Nha Chung Street near St Joseph’s Cathedral in central Hanoi and another in the parish of Thai Ha.

The authorities had promised in February to negotiate a settlement over an historic church building near the cathedral – then horrified demonstrators by demolishing it last month. The official Vietnam News Agency has since reported it will be turned into a library and park ‘to serve public interests’ and ‘meet the Hanoians’ demand for relaxation’.

The authorities were clearly rattled by the scale of the vigils which have drawn increasingly large crowds. In Thai Ha, where Christians are demanding the return of a 60,000 square metre plot which the government plans to turn into a park, up to 10,000 people gathered after the Nha Chung Street demolition.

Now the authorities have warned Archbishop of Hanoi Ngo Qu Kiet of ‘extreme action’ if prayer vigils continue.
 
(Sources: CathNews; Christian Today; Compass Direct; Vietnam News Agency; VOM Canada)

§         Thank God for the groundswell of peaceful protest which suggests the church in Vietnam is gaining in confidence, even amid harassment.

§         Pray for justice for churches seeking the restoration of confiscated land.

ENDS 

NOTES TO THE EDITOR 

In Release International’s regular news and prayer service on the persecuted Church we are focusing initially on seven principal nations where Christians have faced intense persecution. These are China, North Korea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam and Sudan – though we may report on others. Our aims are to raise awareness of the persecuted Church and encourage prayer. 

We welcome your feedback on this service.

For further information please contact Release International on 01689 823491 or by email at info@releaseinternational.org  

For more information on Release International please go to: www.releaseinternational.org

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