Cili County, why are you so silly?

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a house church pastor in China’s Hunan province was arrested on April 2, after being criminally detained since March 14 for “inciting subversion of state power.”

On April 11, Bethel Church sent out an urgent prayer request for its pastor, Zhao Huaiguo, asking for nationwide prayers for its pastor who was arrested on April 2 on subversion charges. Zhao, the founder of Bethel Church in Cili county, has served at his church for 13 years, cultivating many leaders among the several hundred members. The church refused to join the state-vetted Three-Self church and was banned last year by the government.

According to China Aid, a local Christian shared that the authorities have been hostile toward Pastor Zhao since his church refused to join the state-sanctioned church and rejected government officials’ intervention. “He was accused of proselytizing and distributing Gospel tracts, which were considered illegal acts. After Lunar New Year last year, the religious bureau forced the church to disperse, to which it refused. The official ban arrived last April,” said the local Christian.

On April 10, 2019, nearly 50 people from the local authorities raided Bethel Church, damaging church property and confiscating Bibles, a piano, and hymn books. Pastor Zhao and other members were questioned and warned.

A Bethel Church member told China Aid that from March to December 2019, the public security police have repeatedly harassed the church, taking its preachers in for investigation and forcing them to sign an agreement that they would not preach or hold any more religious activities.

Following Zhao’s arrest, the authorities have been investigating the church’s offering and its sources, in an effort to find proof to accuse Pastor Zhao. Yet, since the church members refused to provide information, the police have made little progress thus far.

Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said, “For the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to slap the charge of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ on Pastor Zhao, typically used against human rights lawyers and activists, it shows how the regime is fearful of anybody who is disobedient to the CCP. The laws in China now have become tools for the government to silence and weaken its citizens’ influence, even in a religious setting. The lack of rule of law in China should gravely concern the international community.”

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org. 

About ICC
International Christian Concern is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on human rights, religious freedom and assisting the persecuted Christian Church around the world.

Media Contact
Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator
E-mail: press@persecution.org
Phone: (301)-859-3842

International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #941, Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org | E-mail: icc@persecution.org

Easter raid in Sichuan

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that during an online worship session in China to celebrate Easter on April 12, several key members of the heavily persecuted Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) were taken away from their homes.

The Sichuan house church has not been able to gather in person since the government clamped down on the church on December 9, 2018 and arrested their pastor and other leaders. This Easter, the church was conducting an online worship session, when suddenly six leaders were taken by the Public Security Bureau from their homes.

A member of ERCC told ICC, “At that time I was also in the Zoom call, but there was a long period of time where I did not hear a thing. I thought it’s the network connection issue at first, but I soon heard a quarrel erupt. Our coworker Wang Jun was questioning some people, [saying], ‘Who are you to do this [to us]?’”

She added that, in addition to Wang, other leaders such as Guo Haigang, Wu Wuqing, Jia Xuewei, Zhang Jianqing and Zhang Xudong were also taken away. One member’s home had its electricity cut off, while others received phone calls that “police [were] coming to visit them soon.”

A supporter of ERCC also shared on Twitter, “Since 8:30 a.m., some security officials have entered these Christian families’ homes and pretended to be chatting with them casually. At 9:30 a.m., the worship began, and they were also invited to participate. Once they realized that the sermon was from ERCC’s imprisoned pastor Wang Yi, they immediately shut it down.”

Her account was echoed by Zhang Jiangqing, who was warned by the police at his house, saying, “Don’t participate in already banned [religious] activities anymore! Don’t listen to Pastor [Wang]’s sermons anymore! If you do this again, we will deal with it seriously and take you away!”

The six briefly detained Christians have since been released, and their electricity was restored in the afternoon.

It is not uncommon for the local authorities to take additional measures against ERCC during major Christian celebrations or anniversary events. However, the latest detention also took place after church member Chen Yan decided to file a lawsuit against the authorities for unlawful harassment and surveillance against her and her husband Xiao Luobiao for more than a year. Last week, she detailed her experience with the security officials and her intention to sue in a series of blog posts published online.

Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said, “It is such a shame that the Chinese government has not once stopped its persecution of ERCC. Ever since the 1209 crackdown in 2018, local authorities have continued to monitor and harass ERCC members, with the hope that the church will disperse itself. In a time when the Chinese people are suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the heartless regime chose to inflict more trouble on its citizens. The UN should immediately suspend China’s appointment to the Human Rights Council for its lack of respect for human rights.”

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org. 

About ICC
International Christian Concern is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on human rights, religious freedom and assisting the persecuted Christian Church around the world.

Media Contact
Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator
E-mail: press@persecution.org
Phone: (301)-859-3842

International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #941, Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org | E-mail: icc@persecution.org

Muslims attack same village 8 times in 3 years

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on Tuesday evening, March 31, despite serious concerns and restrictive measures to stall the COVID-19 pandemic, Fulani militants continued to move freely and attacked two Christian villages in Miango District, Nigeria. This is the eighth time in the last three years that Ancha village has suffered at the hands of these militants.

Narrating the heartbreaking incident, Ishaya, a member of the village’s Baptist church, said, “They came at about 11:00 p.m. (on March 31), firing gunshots and burning houses! It was so dreadful! They killed three persons and also burnt four cars (in Ancha).” Ishaya further disclosed that the militants proceeded to launch an attack on Hukke, the neighboring village, on Wednesday, April 1. During this attack, seven people were killed and approximately 30 homes were burned down over a span of two days.

“We are in great distress here,” Ishaya lamented. Those killed in Ancha village were a pregnant member of the Baptist church named Tina Musa (33), another member of the Baptist church, Gado Bhata (57), and a member of the Methodist church, William Rivi (65).

An injured victim of the Ancha village attack, Danlami Gado, who was admitted to Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos, recalled, “I was in the house. When we heard gunshots, we came out, not knowing that the attackers were already in the village. They fired shots at me and three bullets hit me on my left leg, shattering the bones.  After they disappeared, I kept yelling out for help. Some persons eventually heard and came. They picked me up on a motorbike, riding through the bush until we got to a hospital in Miango.” Danlami’s injury was complicated, so he was referred to a hospital with the appropriate specialists. He has been scheduled for immediate surgery.

A local pastor, Yakubu Kpasa of ECWA Church, grieved over the murder of three of his church members, “They came on Wednesday, April 1, at about 8:00 p.m., and returned the next day, April 2, at about 5:00 p.m. They killed three by gunshots and destroyed our church building. They also burnt several houses.” Pastor Yakubu said the gunmen came in large numbers. The entire village has been deserted and he and his family are taking refuge in another village.

In a 2017 attack on Ancha village, the militants killed 20 people, all but one of whom were members of the Baptist church. During an attack on nearby Nkiedonwro village, 28 people ran to hide in a primary school classroom while military personnel engaged the attackers. The villagers were then killed by the militants when the military was overpowered.

Nathan Johnson, ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa said, “I have personally prayed with this village over the mass grave of the 20 killed in 2017. To see attacks continuing almost three years later in the same village is infuriating. The government’s complete incompetency is causing many Christians to lose their lives needlessly. It is time that this administration begins to take the deaths of thousands seriously and stop claiming that there are no issues. They are now responsible for every death that takes place in Ancha village.”

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org. 

About ICC
International Christian Concern is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on human rights, religious freedom and assisting the persecuted Christian Church around the world.

Media Contact
Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator
E-mail: press@persecution.org
Phone: (301)-859-3842

International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #941, Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org | E-mail: icc@persecution.org

Terror attacks continue on roads in Kenya by al-Shabaab

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on Wednesday, March 11, two Christians were killed and another was abducted when suspected al-Shabaab militants attacked two vehicles on the road between Elwak and Mandera in northeastern Kenya. This region has become a common location for the terror group to conduct attacks, in which they target non-local Christians.

In the first incident, the Somali-based terror group ambushed a passenger bus near the Jabi-bar area, ordering all of the passengers to disembark before the militants began profiling them to identify non-Muslims.

While speaking with ICC, a Mandera security officer confirmed, “The attackers were looking for non-local passengers traveling from Nairobi in order to kill them. The current trend of terror activity in Mandera confirms that. They abducted the only Christian on the bus, the mechanic, and allowed the others to continue with their journey.”

While Kenyan forces pursue the attackers, the status of the abducted Christian remains unknown.

During the second attack, which took place an hour later in the same location, two non-local medical transporters were killed and their truck was burned. They were ferrying pharmaceutical drugs to Mandera, traversing the violence-prone region near the porous Kenya-Somalia border. In a statement, the governor of Mandera said, “Later on the same spot, a truck carrying KEMSA drugs was stopped. The driver and turn boy who are both non-locals were taken away. It was later reported that the lorry has been burnt down to ashes.”

The security officer confirmed to ICC that the “two non-locals, [the] driver and his assistant, had been killed by shooting and their bodies [were] dumped on the roadside.”

This attack comes at a time when Kenya and Somalia are engaged in a border dispute after a war involving the Somali forces and the semi-autonomous region of Jubbaland forces spilled over to Mandera. Christians are worried that, unless security is heightened, they will continue to be targeted. A pastor in Mandera said, “Over the last two weeks, we have been living in fear because of the insecurity posed by the two forces from Somalia who are seen in town on military cars. We are not quite sure if they are forces or militants. We ask for prayers of protection over Christians in northeastern Kenya.”

Kenya has witnessed six terror attacks targeting vehicles in the last four months, leading to the deaths of 21 Christians. On December 6, 2019, 11 non-local individuals were killed when al-Shabaab attacked a passenger bus in Wajir. In total, 10 Christians have been killed in the region from different terror activities in 2020 alone.

Nathan Johnson, ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, said, “Al-Shabaab is following through with its threat to target and attack non-local Christians. They have increased this type of attack greatly already this year. If this continues, 2020 could be one of the deadliest for Kenyan Christians in recent history. Though I commend the Kenyan government for taking this situation seriously, they must figure out a better way to stop these attacks before dozens more Christians are killed.”

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org. 

About ICC
International Christian Concern is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on human rights, religious freedom and assisting the persecuted Christian Church around the world.

Media Contact
Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator
E-mail: press@persecution.org
Phone: (301)-859-3842

International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #941, Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org | E-mail: icc@persecution.org

Vietnamese activist released from prison

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that an ethnic Montagnard Vietnamese Christian, Y Ngun Knul, was released from prison last week. He was imprisoned for almost 16 years for demanding land rights and religious freedom.

Y Ngun Knul was arrested and imprisoned on April 20, 2004, and issued an 18-year sentence which was later reduced. He was arrested for launching protests calling for a Protestant church that was shut down by the authorities to be reopened and for the members of his community to be allowed to live according to their traditions.

“As those rights were being taken away, people were becoming upset, and so I called on everyone to take part in the protests. As a result, I was arrested and sentenced to 18 years in prison,” Knul told Radio Free Asia (RFA).

He was visited by his family only four times during his time behind bars at Nam Ha and Thanh Chuong Prisons, located in distant Nghe An province. Both he and his family have suffered in the past decade. His family lost their house and land, and his poor health due to years of incarceration shadows him with uncertainty for the future.

“I have kidney failure and high blood pressure and had a gastrointestinal hemorrhage,” he told RFA. “Now I can eat only bowl of rice per day because I have stomach problems that make it hard for me to breathe.”

He added, “My foot is swelling, too, making it hard for me to move.”

On March 10, Vu Quoc Ngu from the Vietnamese human rights organization Defend the Defenders told ICC, “Y Ngun Knul is going to Saigon for [a] medical check. Protestant pastor Pham Ngoc Thach, who was a prisoner of conscience, is accompanying him to Saigon now.”

Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said, “Unfortunately, Knul is just one of the many prisoners of conscience in Vietnam imprisoned for their religion, political views, or ethnicity. While we celebrate Knul’s release after many agonizing years, we know that dozens of Christians are still incarcerated and should be released unconditionally by the Vietnamese authorities.”

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org. 

About ICC
International Christian Concern is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on human rights, religious freedom and assisting the persecuted Christian Church around the world.

Media Contact
Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator
E-mail: press@persecution.org
Phone: (301)-859-3842

International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #941, Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org | E-mail: icc@persecution.org

Muslim landlord kills tenant in Pakistan

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Saleem Masih, a 22-year-old Pakistani Christian, was severely tortured by a Muslim landlord in Pakistan’s Kasur District because he used the landlord’s tube-well to bathe. Three days later, on February 28, Saleem died at Lahore General Hospital due to the severity of his injuries.

On February 25, Saleem was working as a day laborer in an agricultural field owned by Sher Dogar in Bhagiyana village, located in the Kasur District. Early in the morning, after Masih finished unloading chaff in the fields, he rinsed himself off in a nearby tube-well. When Dogar and other Muslims saw what Saleem was doing, they rushed over, pulled Saleem out of the water, and began to beat him.

“They abused and tortured [Saleem] for ‘polluting’ the Muslims’ water,” Waris Masih, Saleem’s uncle, told ICC. “They got aggressive because a ‘Choora’ (a derogatory term used to denote Pakistani Christians as unclean) dared to make their water unclean. They claimed this would make their entire crop filthy.”

According to multiple reports, Dogar and six other Muslims, including Muhammad Iqbal, Altaf, Ali Shehzad, Jabbar Arain, Mushtaq, and Haji Muhammad, dragged Saleem to Dogar’s cattle farm where they chained him down and tortured him for two hours. According to Saleem’s relatives, he was beaten with sticks and iron rods, struck with electric shocks, and rolled over by an iron rod, causing multiple fractures to his left arm and ribs.  

At approximately 9:00 a.m., Saleem’s father, Ghafoor Masih, was called by the police to Dogar’s cattle farm. There he discovered Saleem unconscious and bloodied due to the torture. Saleem’s father rushed him to the district hospital where he received initial treatment, but was transferred to Lahore General Hospital due to the severity of his injuries. Saleem remained in a coma for three days until he died on February 28.

“This incident has damaged my strength,” Ghafoor told ICC. “He was my child star and the face of the family. The culprits have killed him very brutally. I want justice for my son and punishment for the killers.”  

“Christians and Muslims have been living in this village together for over four decades,” Mian Muhammad Abbas, a Muslim community leader, told ICC while condemning the attack. “We still want to live in peace. This village and country belong to every citizen and we are sad for Saleem Masih.”

Police registered a First Information Report against Dogar and the six others who participated in the attack, but none are currently in police custody. According to several local reports, police granted Dogar and the others pre-arrest bail and released them after briefly holding them in custody.

ICC’s Regional Manager, William Stark, said, “International Christian Concern is deeply disturbed by this brutal attack on Saleem Masih. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Saleem’s family and the Christian community of Bhagiyana. No one should fear being attacked and killed because their religious identity is considered ‘unclean.’ Authorities in Pakistan must take concrete action to provide Saleem’s family with justice and ensure that similar incidents do not happen in the future.”

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org. 

About ICC
International Christian Concern is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on human rights, religious freedom and assisting the persecuted Christian Church around the world.

Media Contact
Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator
E-mail: press@persecution.org
Phone: (301)-859-3842

International Christian Concern
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #941, Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org | E-mail: icc@persecution.org

Paul Sutliff on Civilization Jihad: Is child marriage and forced marriage part of Isla...

Paul Sutliff on Civilization Jihad: Is child marriage and forced marriage part of Isla...: On March 1, 2020 The News out of Pakistan published an article on child marriage in the country. In the article an 11 year old is bas...