Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng tells of police torture

Gao Zhisheng
(Photo from ChinaAid)

The Associated Press recently revealed that it had an exclusive interview with Christian human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng eight months ago in which he revealed details of torture he suffered during his 14-month disappearance into government custody, said ChinaAid on Monday.

The American newswire service said that it had not reported immediately on the April 7, 2010 interview in keeping with Gao’s wishes that “his account not be made public unless he went missing again or made it to ‘someplace safe’ like the United States or Europe.”

Given that Gao disappeared again two weeks later and that there has been no word from or of him in the more than eight months since then, the AP decided to release the details of his interview, after consulting with his family. The Washington Post carried the exclusive report on January 10.

Gao told of the police torture he endured after he was “disappeared” on February 4, 2009, including a two-day, two-night beating session where police used handguns in holsters to pummel his bare body. Gao said this was the worst of the beatings he had ever endured and was the darkest point of the 14 months.

On September 25, while taking one of the strolls that his captors in Xinjiang occasionally allowed him, he was set upon by a group of Uyghurs who punched him in the stomach, handcuffed him, taped his mouth and eyes shut and took him into an upstairs room of a building. That began a week of torture that culminated with the 48-hour pistol-whipping session that he said was the worst torture of the 14 months. Gao said he knew his torturers were plainclothes police because they used handcuffs, which ordinary criminals would not have. He said they abused him in other ways that he refused to describe.

In November 2009, after U.S. President Barack Obama’s summit in Beijing, Gao’s treatment improved. In February 2010, police had Gao participate in a staged reappearance in response to international pressure. They transferred him to a temple on Mount Wutai, a Buddhist retreat, and on March 27 allowed him to be seen publicly. A short while later, he was taken to Beijing, where his interview with the AP took place, under the watchful eye of plainclothes police outside a teahouse. Two weeks later, he was “disappeared” again.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will be making his way to Washington next week for a summit meeting with President Obama. Although the AP did not mention Hu’s upcoming January 18-21 trip to Washington, the timing of the report likely was not a coincidence.

You can read the full AP story on ChinaAid's site by clicking here.

North Korean border guards kill five defectors

Ingwang-ri in North Korea's North Hamgyong Province
viewed from Helong, China

Our sister mission Seoul USA reported yesterday that five North Koreans were shot dead by North Korean border guards on the Chinese side of the border, as they tried to flee North Korea, a source said January 9. Two others were wounded.

The high-level source in Changbai in the Chinese province of Jilin said the seven individuals left Hyesan, Yanggang Province, and walked across the frozen Apnok (or Yalu) River and reached the Chinese side on December 14. North Korean border guards ran after the individuals and opened fire. Five died instantly. The two wounded were taken to the North.

Never before have North Korean border guards shot at defectors once they reached the Chinese side.

Observers say guards must have new instructions for dealing with defectors. Leader Kim Jong Il's son and heir, Kim Jong Un, has apparently ordered border guards to shoot anyone who crosses the border rivers without permission. He also reportedly said he would not tolerate defectors crossing the border.

While there is no reason to suspect that those killed in the recent incident were Christian, certainly everyone who crosses the border illegally will be impacted by this shocking change in security measures.

In the upcoming February 2011 VOM newsletter, we'll tell you about a North Korean defector who almost met death while trying to provide for her daughters and met Jesus Christ instead. We'll also share how VOM is involved in helping fellow believers in the "Hermit Kingdom."

Live in Canada and want to subscribe to VOM's free monthly newsletter? Go here.

Please pray that those living in hopelessness in North Korea will find hope in Christ. Pray for believers in North Korea who follow Jesus at great risk. Pray for all those in authority in this nation; ask the Lord to open their eyes to the wisdom, compassion and the light of the gospel.

Petition calling for lawyer's release thwarted

ChinaAid president Pastor Bob Fu (far left) and others
stand outside the Chinese Embassy in Oslo, Norway,
after attempting to deliver a petition calling for
Gao Zhisheng’s release.

In early December, we told you about a worldwide advocacy effort orchestrated by ChinaAid on behalf of Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. Gao was initially seized from his home in Shaanxi province on February 4, 2009, and held incommunicado by security officials for 13 months. In early April 2010, news surfaced that he had been released. Shortly thereafter he was again reported missing.

In recognition of Human Rights Day on December 10, ChinaAid coordinated a campaign to deliver 150,000 signed petitions to Chinese embassies around the world.

We learned late last week that Chinese embassies and consulates refused delivery of ChinaAids’s 2,600-page petition, causing disappointment among those who hoped that the campaign would raise public awareness of Gao’s plight and pressure the Chinese government into action.

Not one of the embassies or consulates in 14 countries around the world accepted delivery, and at the London embassy, a police officer greeted the delivery. When explained that the group was there to deliver a petition, the officer replied, “I’m aware of that, and I’m afraid it won’t be possible to deliver it.”

ChinaAid reported that the London participants of this worldwide petition-delivery expressed shock that a police officer, paid by the British taxpayer, was being used to prevent the delivery of the petition to the Chinese embassy and said they planned to complain to the Metropolitan Police.

You can read ChinaAid’s full report here.

Find out more about Gao here.

Please continue to pray that Gao will be safely returned home at last. Pray he will continue to find comfort in the everlasting love and mercy of a Saviour who never forsakes His children. Pray Gao’s family will also find refuge in God, casting all of their fears and cares on Him. Pray those involved in the petition will not be discouraged by recent events, but have enduring faith in God’s justice. Pray Chinese Christians will continue to boldly proclaim the righteousness of the Lord.

Asia Bibi facing threat of suicide attack

Officials are concerned there may
be a suicide attack on the prison
where Asia Bibi is being held.

Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who triggered a blasphemy furor in Pakistan and in whose defence Punjab province Governor Salman Taseer lost his life, is facing a threat of a suicide attack inside a jail, where she is currently lodged, reported ASSIST News Service on Tuesday.

According to a story by Z News, a militant organization known as the “Moaviya group” plans to mount a suicide attack on Sheikhupura district jail, where Asia is being held. An intelligence report issued last week has corroborated threat to her life.

Punjab police and jail authorities have reportedly beefed up security due to the intelligence report and the assassination of Taseer.

The Z News story said that 131 people are being held in jails across Punjab on blasphemy charges. Eleven of them have been sentenced to death, including Asia, who is the first woman to be given the penalty.

“Though no one has been executed after being convicted under the controversial law, 35 people, including Taseer, who were accused of committing blasphemy or defending those charged with blasphemy have been killed between 1990 and 2011,” said Z News. “They were either victims of extra-judicial killings or found dead in prison in suspicious circumstances.”

Last week, we told you that Asia’s family has been receiving threats from anonymous callers. Her husband Ashiq Masih insists that his wife is innocent and will be freed, but he worries about what will happen if she is released. "When she comes out, how she can live safely?" he asks. "No one will let her live. The mullahs are saying they will kill her when she comes out."

Please pray the Lord will protect and provide for Ashiq Masih and his children. May the entire family know the Lord's strengthening presence. Pray the Lord will use Asia's situation to bring about change in Pakistan for His glory. Pray for her release.

Persecution continues to escalate into 2011

Persecution of Christians in the Middle East is rising.

We’re only 12 days into 2011, and persecution of Christians is showing no signs of abating. In fact, many consider it to be escalating.

Take a look at one of Mission Network News’ most recent stories:

2010 persecution escalation continues into 2011

International (MNN) — Start praying: 2011 is ramping up to be a year of heavy persecution.

Many are hoping that the first 12 days are not an omen for what the rest of 2011 will look like for believers, especially in the Middle East. Many Christian leaders, however, may find it difficult to remain optimistic.

"We've just been sensing that 2011 is really going to be a year that is heated up with persecution," says Tom Doyle with E3Partners.

Already, Christian and secular news sources alike have reported a rise in the persecution of Christians worldwide. The arrests of 70 converted Christians in Iran, the assassination of anti-blasphemy law governor in Pakistan, and the bombing of a church in Egypt is a lot for just 12 days. And just yesterday, six Coptic Christians were shot by Muslim extremists on a train in Egypt, killing one and wounding the other five.

"We've been hearing things out of Iraq, Syria, Jordan, things out of the Gaza strip where there are threats," says Doyle. "Believers are bracing themselves because once something like this happens, where people coming out of a church are killed, or a church is blown up, or Christians are killed anywhere, it can be a chain reaction throughout the Islamic world. Many times, different terrorist groups try to outdo each other in their fanaticism."

Most of the persecution so far has involved various Muslim extremists—a trend influenced by the chain reaction Doyle describes, but also by pressure extremists face regarding Islamic youth. Doyle suggests that some of the persecution is a backlash in reaction to the general disinterest among youth toward Islam.

"[Islam] is, in a sense, imploding because the young people--some of them—want to go radical, but many of them do not," says Doyle. "They are tired of traditional Islam.... There's a fear there among religious leaders all throughout Islam that they're losing this young generation."

Not surprisingly, then, much of the persecution to come, says Doyle, will be as a result of Christian-Muslim clashes in the Middle East. Already, E3 Partners has gotten word of ten new terrorist groups dedicated to eradicating Christianity. "We just see this volcano ready to erupt that Islam is going to be a major part of, with persecution toward believers all throughout the region."

Because the Middle East is far away from most of us, though, there's a temptation to look away.

"I think it's so easy to look at the news and say, ‘Boy, Pakistan is such a terrible place,' and ‘Look at all the terrorists,'" says Doyle. "But there are believers there. And there are underground churches that are lifting up Jesus, living for Christ, trying to influence their neighbours; it's a harsh place to live when you want to walk with Christ."

The best response for Christians all over is to pray. "We're praying for the spread of the Gospel, the spread of new believers becoming true disciples, and building the church in these areas of darkness."

Christian checked for Coptic tattoo; killed

Yesterday, a gunman killed one Egyptian Christian and injured five others on a northbound train in Upper Egypt, reports ASSIST News Service. The suspect is in now in custody.

Media sources say that a gunman entered the train while it was stationed at the southern Egyptian city of Samalout in the Minya governorate, some 161 miles south of Cairo.

Security sources said that the assailant checked passengers for the green cross traditionally tattooed on the wrists of Coptic Christians in Egypt. After identifying several Copts, the culprit killed one of them and injured five others.

The same sources said that investigators are currently looking into the possibility that the assailant was an off-duty Muslim policeman. The victim has been identified as Fathy Said Ebeid, 71, and the wounded include his wife, another man and three other women.

You can read the full report here.

The problem of evil

Written by Cheryl Odden

“It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s....”

Admit it. We love superheroes. Their superhuman powers enable them to scale tall buildings in a single bound, capture criminals with a golden lasso, and drive cool cars that turn into jet planes at the push of a button. Every superhero has an evil nemesis. At the end of every story, the villain is caught. Justice prevails.

But in the real world, we know superheroes do not exist. However, their ability to conquer evil strikes at the heart of the justice we all long for.

One only has to turn on the nightly news or scan the front page of a newspaper to see that evil is rampant. Open the Bible. From Genesis beginning with the Fall of man and slaying of Abel to the plight of Job, the problem of evil is addressed. But, explaining the problem of evil is not as simple as blaming it on sin. Theologians would know. They have been wrestling with this issue for centuries.

The theological term that addresses the problem of evil is called “theodicy,” which comes from the Greek word “Theos,” meaning God, and “dikē,” meaning justice. Theodicy is defined as justifying the ways of God to man, specifically in relation to evil.

Now regarding evil, there are two primary types:

• Natural evil: acts of nature that are not controlled by man such as hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis.
• Moral evil: man’s wilful actions against fellow man.

We know the Bible says that God works all things together for good and that we will experience trouble, so why do we care about explaining the problem of evil? There are two reasons:

• Apologetical: For the atheist, the issue is, “If God exists, why does He allow evil?”
• Religious: For the Christian, many grapple with questions like, “Why did my child have to die?”

Theologians consider these questions when formulating a theodicy.

Explanations of evil have been approached from different angles: however, they fall short, as they typically bring into question God as all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient) and good. For example, God allowing evil affects His goodness; likewise, God not knowing about evil acts affects His omniscience but gets Him off the hook for allowing the evil.

So you see: explaining evil is a problem. Some have admitted that the problem of evil will never be answered for the atheist. And for theologians, Millard Erickson has said that the problem is possibly the biggest intellectual challenge.

God is not a cosmic superhero who swoops in and saves people from evil. We read through Scripture that sometimes He did save them; other times He didn’t. As we deal with evil in the world, I would encourage you to spend time in God’s Word reading the accounts of those who faced evil, like Joseph in Genesis and definitely Job. Also, read about those who faced death, like Stephen, and death threats, like Paul. Pay close attention to those Scriptures about what happened after their suffering. Finally, read the stories we publish in The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, and note how these Christians are responding to evil as they are persecuted for Christ’s sake.

Regarding the problem of evil, there is one thing we do know: It will be dealt with once and for all. And it won’t need a superhero, either. It will be the One called “Faithful and True” who will ride in on His white horse and cast the Evil One into the lake of fire (Revelation 19-20). Until then, may the stories of today’s persecuted Church inspire you to do good when faced with evil.

Violence toward believers in southern Mexico

Troubles for believers in southern Mexico have not ended.

Terrible violence has been sparking toward tribal believers in southern Mexico, reports ASSIST News Service.

Dr. Dale W. Kietzman, founder of Latin American Indian Ministries told ASSIST News, “While we want to be positive about the year ahead, we have to report to you a real concern for tribal believers in southern Mexico. The troubles for believers there have not ended!”

Here are confirmed reports of events that have happened just in the past few months, all from the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca:

• A pastor was waylaid and killed as he travelled back to his village after a doctor’s appointment in Comitan, Chiapas.
• Three pastors were killed in Santa Maria El Tule, Oaxaca.
• Four families of believers were expelled from the village of Chilil, Chiapas.
• The church in Llanos, Chiapas, was destroyed last June, and believers put on notice. This month, six homes were destroyed and the families expelled from the community.
• In Mitziton, Chiapas, the church and many homes were destroyed, and 50 families were expelled from the community.
• In Nachug, Chiapas, 86 families were expelled.
• At the end of 2010, 498 Indian believers were living as street people, homeless in the city of San Cristobal, where they had sought protection.

Kietzman, who is the former US director of Wycliffe Bible Translators, says much of the persecution is the result of conflict that develops when new believers decide they cannot participate in their villages' drunken fiestas to saints who have come to represent ancient pagan gods. The responsiblity for funding the fiestas is passed around to families of the community, and the conflict begins when an evangelical family is supposed to purchase the liquor but refuses to do so.

You can read the full report here.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Chiapas and Oaxaca. Pray the Lord would make them strong to lovingly and boldly proclaim the gospel (Ephesians 6:18-20). Pray that their passion for Christ will be the light that draws their family members and fellow villagers to Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16). Pray also that increased persecution will result in increased boldness among believers (Acts 4:29-31).

‘Being offended’ comes with the territory

Albert Mohler, author, speaker and president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently wrote a piece for Christianity.com titled “How Not to Fight Atheism.”

He refers to a group in Texas that began running advertisements on public buses that read, “Millions of Americans are Good Without God.” Christians expressed outrage and called for a boycott of public transportation. The transportation authority then voted to ban ALL religious ads on buses. Supposedly, both sides cheered the decision.

Perhaps the Christians should not have been clapping.

In Mohler’s words:

Christians are sometimes our own worst enemy, especially when we claim to be offended. Those pastors and concerned Christians who demanded that the transportation authority ban the atheist ads actually gave the secularists the Grand Prize. By precipitating (and, of all things, celebrating) a ban on all religious messages from this public space, these Christians surrendered Gospel opportunities simply because they were offended by an atheist advertisement. No wonder the atheists clapped.

This is a disastrous strategy. Are Christians so insecure that we fear a weakly-worded advertisement on a public bus? These bus ads represent just how weak the atheists' arguments really are, but the response from agitated Christians represents a far more dangerous weakness. Instead of responding to the ads with a firm and gracious defence of the Gospel, these activists just surrendered the space altogether, rather than to bear the offense of the cross.

Christianity has enemies, and the greatest victory of these enemies is to prevent the proclamation of the Gospel. The strategy so celebrated in Fort Worth is a route to evangelistic disaster. Religious liberty is a friend of the Gospel, and constraints on religious speech serve the cause of the secularists.

Being a Christian does not mean never having to be offended. Like the Apostle Paul, we are called to bear the offence of the cross gladly. If Paul had followed the Fort Worth strategy, Acts 17 would never have happened.

As Christians, "being offended" comes with the territory. Take a moment to read Acts 17. I'll leave you with the last three verses: "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, 'We will hear you again on this matter.' So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them."

Some believed! That makes everything else Paul experiences worth the offence.

You can read Mohler’s full story here.

Will Turkmenistan government respond to call for Religion Law changes?

Turkmenistan has one of the harshest
laws on religion of all 15 former
Soviet Republics.

Three years ago, Turkmenistan declared its Religion Law to be a priority in a series of reforms.

Today, according to Slavic Gospel Association, the Turkmenistan government has designed one of the harshest laws on religion of all 15 former Soviet Republics, reports Mission Network News.

The changes the government was making alarmed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which did a legal review on the law. Its report included several criticisms of the Turkmenistan law.

Among many changes the OSCE review calls for are an end to the ban on unregistered religious activity and the private teaching of religion.

SGA’s Joel Griffith explains that the law came about because Turkmenistan saw the issues faced in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan and took some pre-emptive measures. "They are afraid of radicalism of any kind. Because there is such an increase in radical Islam right now (the whole Jihadist network), it's almost like there's a feeling like ‘if we crack down on one, we've got to crack down on all of them.'"

Turkmenistan's current restrictive Religion Law was adopted in October 2003, with significant amendments in March 2004 and further minor amendments in April 2009 and July 2009. The Review was requested by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabad in July 2009, completed in June 2010, and made public in December 2010.

Many actions by officials break Turkmenistan's own laws, as well as international human rights standards, reports Forum 18 News. These actions indicate that the rule of law does not apply in the country. They include but are not limited to the following: 

• raids on religious meetings,
• threats against and imprisonment of religious believers,
• confiscation of literature,
• bans on known active religious believers travelling abroad,
• public vilification of religious believers,
• sacking of religious minority members from public employment and
• bans on opening places of worship freely.

In our January 2011 newsletter, we told you about Turkmenistan pastor Ilmurad Nurliev, who was sentenced in October 2010 to four years imprisonment on charges of swindling (see Persecution & Prayer Alert update here). Since 2007, Pastor Nurliev’s church has repeatedly been denied registration.

Read the full Mission Network News report here.

Read the full Forum 18 News report here.

Iran arrests dozens of Christians

Iranian official complains evangelical
Christians are like "parasites."

Iran has reportedly arrested dozens of Christians, many of them converts from Islam, in a crackdown that began around Christmas. An Iranian official is accusing Protestant evangelical groups of causing a cultural invasion, reports the Assyrian International News Agency.

Iranian opposition groups are reporting the arrests of dozens of evangelical Christians, many of whom are converts from Islam. Christian groups inside Iran say that the country's Ministry of Islamic Guidance has also grilled dozens of Christians it accuses of proselytizing.

Armed security officers forcibly entered the homes of Christians, verbally and physically abused them, before handcuffing them and taking them for interrogation," reports the Cyprus-based group Middle East Concern. It adds that some were released after intense questioning and forcibly coerced statements that they would no longer participate in Christian activities.

Seeking to convert Muslims to Christianity or other religions is considered a crime in Iran and many other Islamic countries. Christian missionaries are routinely expelled and sometimes jailed for distributing Bibles and other religious material.

The governor of Tehran province, Morteza Tamadon, confirmed the arrests several days ago, complaining that Protestant evangelicals were conducting an "enemy cultural invasion." He likened Protestants to the Taliban, whom he referred to as "parasites."

Hadi Ghaemi of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says that the evangelical Christian movement has gained popularity in recent years, along with other non-Islamic religions, due to disaffection with Iran's state-sponsored Shi'ism.

Mohammed Javad Larijani, the Secretary General of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, complained recently that the West was "unfairly targeting Iran for human rights abuses. He claims that Iran tolerates other religions, so long as they are "not cults.”

Converts to Christianity from Islam, however, are often harassed and persecuted. Two evangelical Christian pastors, whom the government says converted from Islam, were arrested last June. One, Youcef Nardarkhani has been sentenced to death for apostasy and the other's case is still pending.

You can read the full report here.

Having a living faith

“Some seed fell by the wayside; and

the birds came and devoured them.”
Matthew 13:4

How is it that some men hear the Word of God gladly, while others allow the birds—that is, wicked spirits—to devour their good seed?

The Old Testament Joseph was told a dream by Pharaoh’s baker with whom he was in prison: “There were three white baskets on my head. In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head” (Genesis 40: 16, 17). Joseph interpreted the dream to mean that the baker would be hanged on a tree.

The renowned rabbi of Dubna was asked how Joseph could have known this. He answered, “A painter once painted a man with a basket of bread on his head. Birds came to eat from the picture, believing that it was real bread. A man said, ‘What a good painter! How natural he made the bread look!’ He was not a good painter. He did not make the man look natural enough to frighten the birds, or they would not have come. Likewise, Joseph understood that if the birds dared come to the baker, then he must be a dead man.”

The wicked spirits cannot take away the seeds of the Word of God from a living Christian, but only from one who looks rather like a scarecrow. Scarecrows don’t scare spirits. Be sure your faith is a living faith.

Excerpted from Reaching Toward the Heights by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, VOM’s founder.

Want to read more? Reaching Toward the Heights is 365-day devotional in which Pastor Wurmbrand draws upon his own experience in prison and the testimonies of other persecuted Christians to encourage us to elevate our relationship with the Lord. See what 365 days of immersion in God’s love can do for your soul. Order your devotional for $10 today!

Pray for Sudan amid historic referendum

Pray for peace in Sudan.

Sudan is a country with a long history of violence and conflict, including two civil wars between the largely Islamic North and the Christian and animist majority in the South. Christians, in particular, have endured severe opposition, and they continue to face many challenges to their witness.

In the North, believers are subject to many restrictions. Evangelism is fiercely opposed and thus very limited, and all non-Muslims face intense pressure to convert to Islam. There have also been reports of violent attacks on Christians in other regions in recent years.

In 2005, the government in Khartoum and the Southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement signed a peace agreement. This agreement, which ended the country's second civil war, established semi-autonomy in the South and called for a referendum on independence. The referendum will take place this Sunday.

While many are hopeful that the January 9 referendum will allow the South to separate from the North peacefully, there remains concern over the effect this transition will have on the country. Recent comments made by President Omar al-Bashir, regarding the reinforcement of Islamic law, have raised particular fear for Christians and all non-Muslims in the nation in the aftermath of the vote.

"If south Sudan secedes, we will change the constitution," President al-Bashir has said. "Shariah and Islam will be the main source for the constitution -- Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language."

Pray for a free and democratic vote in this referendum. Pray that international governments will encourage Sudanese leadership to hear and accept the voice of their people. Pray that Christians throughout Sudan will continue to entrust themselves to Christ and preach the gospel boldly, knowing Jesus is the ruler over the kings of the earth (2 Timothy 1:7-12, Revelation 1:5). Pray that many more people will come to know Christ as Lord in Sudan. Pray for true and lasting peace in the country.

30 Eritreans arrested for praying

The Christian Church in Eritrea faces
terrible on-going persecution.

Eritrean officials arrested 30 Christians for praying at a private house in Asmara, the capital, on January 2, reports ASSIST News. Some of the Christians were just recently released after being detained for their faith.

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that security officials arrested the Christians and took them to the police station in Asmara. Officials also detained another Christian on January 4. ICC says the detained Christians are members of the Philadelphia Church, an evangelical church outlawed in Eritrea.

Since 2002, many churches in Eritrea have been forced to go underground after officials required all religious groups to register. The government allows only four religious groups: Islam, the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Evangelical Church of Eritrea.

More than 3,000 Christians have been detained for their faith in Christ, reports ICC. Most are kept in underground dungeons, metal shipping containers and military barracks. Several Christians have died while imprisoned due to torture and lack of medical attention.

Please pray for our detained brothers and sisters in Eritrea. Pray they would rest in the knowledge that the Good Shepherd walks with them through this difficult time (Psalm 23). Pray they will exemplify the love of God through consistent love and prayer for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:43-48). Pray for government acceptance of religious groups and for restoration of basic human rights and religious freedom to all Eritreans.

11 Lao Christians arrest; 3 still detained

Christians make up 3.4 percent of
Laos' population. Persecution against
them is often intense and ruthless.

Eleven Christians from Hinboun district, Khammouan Province, in Laos, were detained at gunpoint on Tuesday while gathering for a Christmas celebration in their village, reports Compass Direct News. Eight of the Christians, including children ages four and eight, were released yesterday and today.

Three house-church leaders remain behind bars for “holding a secret meeting,” said advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF). The charge against them is a political offense punishable by law, HRWLRF said.

In December, Pastor Wanna, one of the house-church leaders, informed authorities that church members would gather at his home on Wednesday to celebrate Christmas. His notification was in line with official celebrations by the government-approved Lao Evangelical Church scheduled between December 5 and January 15.

On Tuesday, a truckload of district police officers with guns cocked and ready to shoot burst into Pastor Wanna’s house after dark, shouting, “Stop! Nobody move!” They then forcibly detained the 11 who were quietly sharing an evening meal and charged them with conducting a “secret meeting” without approval.

You can read the full report here.

Please pray for Lao Christians. At the local and village levels, they are targets, and persistent social pressure and the prevention of building new church buildings are two primary opposition strategies. Pray for perseverance and grace for those who must endure, especially those singled out by persecutors. Pray there would be an increased openness to evangelism throughout Laos.

India’s Christians facing spike in assaults

Christians in India faced an upsurge
in violence in the past decade.

At the end of December, Compass Direct News released a report on how Christians in India faced a spike in attacks in the past decade. Since 2001, Christians have faced more than 130 assaults each year, with figures far surpassing that in 2007 and 2008.

In 2010, Christians suffered at least 149 violent attacks, according to a report by the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). Most of the incidents took place in just four states: Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in south India, and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in north-central India. Of India’s 23 million Christians, 2.7 million live in these four states.

The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rules three of the four states with the most persecution of Christians—Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The EFI noted that the high number of attacks on Christians in those states was no coincidence.

“While it cannot be said that the ruling party had a direct role in the attacks on Christians, its complicity cannot be ruled out either,” the report stated.

In 1998, the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—India’s chief Hindu nationalist conglomerate and the BJP’s ideological mentor—targeted Christians when Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, Catholic by descent, became the president of India’s Congress Party. The attacks on Christians were apparently aimed at coaxing Sonia Gandhi to speak on behalf of Christians so that she could be branded as a leader of the Christian minority, as opposed to the BJP’s claimed leadership of the Hindu majority.

Take a few minutes to read about 14 recent attacks on Christians in India here.

Building a hopeful future on a grim past

In our December 2010 newsletter, we shared with you an update on persecution in Nigeria. In the past year, our Christian family there was repeatedly the target of brutal violence.

In January, at least 100 people were killed, hundreds injured and many homes and religious sites burned in central Plateau state. In March, Muslims launched deadly attacks on three farming villages in the state, brutally murdering hundreds of Christians. In April, suspected Islamists abducted and killed a pastor and his wife in Bauchi state. In May, Muslim youths burned down two church buildings and a pastor’s residence in northern Kano state. And those are just the first five months of the year!

Many believers in Nigeria have lost family members and friends. And, too many children have lost one or both parents.

Children just like these.

That’s where the Stephen Centre comes in. For the past several years, VOM has helped the Stephen Centre provide a home where Christian kids who have lost one or both parents can live in safety, have their basic needs met and receive education and opportunities for a hopeful future.

This year, VOM hopes to begin a similar child-sponsorship program in India, where anti-Christian violence has claimed the lives of hundreds of believers in recent years.

We’ll again share an update on Nigeria in our February 2011 newsletter. If you’re reading this and you live in Canada, and you don’t already subscribe to The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, please consider doing so. It’s free. Free and chock-full of information about persecuted Christians around the world.

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North Korea again named 'worst persecutor of Christians'

For the eighth year in a row, North Korea is the worst country in which to be a Christian. The Open Doors World Watch List—a ranking of 50 countries that are the worse persecutors of Christians around the globe—was released today, says Mission Network News.

President and CEO of Open Doors USA Dr. Carl Moeller said, "The biggest thing that we learned from putting the list together this year is that the entire level of persecution globally is accelerating at a really dramatic rate. Eight out of the top 10 countries on our World Watch List this year are Islamic countries where Islamic extremism has gained the upper hand."

Here are the Top 10 persecutors of Christians around the world:

1. North Korea
2. Iran
3. Afghanistan
4. Saudi Arabia
5. Somalia
6. Maldives
7. Yemen
8. Iraq
9. Uzbekistan
10. Laos

You can view the World Watch List 2010 here.

The World Watch List ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. It is compiled from Open Doors' indigenous contacts, field workers, and persecuted believers based on answers to questions covering various aspects of religious freedom.

South Asia pastor falsely charged with theft

Pastor Mandal was accused of
stealing a motorcycle, much like
this one.

A Gospel for Asia-supported pastor has been accused of stealing a motorcycle by a group of anti-Christian extremists in his village in South Asia, reports ASSIST News Service and Gospel for Asia.

Mandal Bhaskar is the pastor of a rapidly growing church of about 100 people. After a funeral service on December 15, members of the deceased’s family observed a local custom by washing his body in a nearby river. Extremists, who oppose Mandal’s ministry, used this opportunity to stage a false theft. One of them rode to the ceremony on a motorcycle but arranged for it to be taken during the event, making it look like a theft.

The next day, Mandal’s opponents tried to confront the pastor by standing in front of his house and yelling at him to come outside and answer their accusations that he had stolen the motorcycle. Mandal was not at home, but his brother heard the commotion from his home nearby. He stepped out to talk to the men and assured them his brother did not commit the crime.

The men attacked Mandal’s brother, who was badly injured before neighbours were able to break him free from the mob’s grip. The accusers then made their way to the police station and filed a theft report accusing Mandal of the crime. The police immediately summoned Mandal to the station. The police released Mandal after taking his statement. Local law enforcement officials have not yet made a ruling in the case.

Pastor Mandal says that the extremists making false charges against him represent the many other residents of the village who feel threatened by the rapid growth of the church. He believes the theft scenario may have been put together to prevent him from conducting a Christmas program in the village.

Please pray God will give Pastor Mandal and his family the grace and strength to face this situation. Pray the Lord will touch the hearts and lives of the villagers making the accusations. Pray for the believers in Pastor Mandal’s church to stand strong in the face of opposition.

Governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province assassinated

CNN is reporting the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, Salman Taseer, was assassinated by his own security guard Tuesday, according to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, apparently because he spoke out against the country's controversial blasphemy law.

You can read the full report here.

Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws have again catapulted into the international spotlight following the arrest of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman. She was sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws on November 8, and she is awaiting an appeals court hearing, which has not yet been set.

Asia has received many death threats since her arrest and sentence, and protesters against amendments to the law recently held a 24-hour strike on December 31. One Muslim cleric was quoted as saying, “Pakistan’s blasphemy law will change over our dead bodies.”

Please pray for the nation of Pakistan and its believers. Pray they would not be fearful but rather filled with peace. Pray for their safety and well-being. Pray God would do a work in the hearts of the officials in charge of Asia’s case.