Iran: raids on homes linked to Baha'i higher education initiative
The Bahá'à Community of the United Kingdom reports that 16 Bahá'Ãs were arrested in a coordinated series of raids on an estimated 30 homes in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, Shiraz, Gohardasht, Sari and Zahedan on 21 May. One of those arrested has since been released. Eight others were interrogated by Intelligence Ministry officers and released afterwards..
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Religious Liberty Partnership calls for freedom in Middle East and North Africa
The Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP) has called on governments in the Middle East and North Africa to safeguard religious freedom.
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Algerian Christian receives five-year prison sentence for blasphemy
According to International Christian Concern, Siagh Krimo was sentenced by the criminal court in Djamel District, Oran, last Wednesday.
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Persecution is part of the Christian vocation - Orissa Archbishop
Despite concerns for their safety, the Christian community is growing in the Indian state of Orissa
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Vietnam: Christian land rights activists to go on trial
Three Mennonite Christians accused of "attempting to overthrow the government of Vietnam" will go on trial along with four other activists charged with the same crime in Ben Tre province imminently. The three were active in campaigning for land rights, and if convicted they may face a lengthy prison sentence or a death sentence.
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Provincial official in Algeria orders churches to close
Seven Algerian churches face closure this week after the governor of their province sent them written notice that they were operating "illegally."
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Uncertainty for Afghan Christian refugees
In May 2010, an Afghan television network broadcast footage of baptisms involving Afghan Muslim converts to Christianity. When a member of parliament called for the execution of the apostates, President Hamid Karzai should have supported the right of Christians to choose their own religion. Instead, the Karzai administration called for an investigation into how aid organisations were promoting Christianity in the region.
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Christian woman in Darfur, Sudan arrested for evangelizing
Sudanese National Security Intelligence and Security Service agents have arrested a Christian woman in a Darfur camp for displaced people, accusing her of converting Muslims to Christianity, said sources who fear she is being tortured.
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Nepal: no agreement on new constitution as peace process deadline approaches
Nepal's Constituent Assembly (CA) has not yet finalised a new constitution, as required under the terms of the peace process that ended the country's ten-year civil war. The deadline for the agreement of a new constitution is May 28.
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Four Eritreans murdered in Tunisian refugee camp on Libya border
Four Eritrean refugees were burnt to death, and one was critically injured, after their tents were deliberately set on fire at a Tunisian refugee camp close to the Libyan border in the early hours of Sunday 22 May.
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Sudan: thousands flee burning and looting by north Sudan forces in Abyei
Thousand of civilians have been displaced following the occupation of Abyei Town by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) at the weekend. Reports from the area indicate that 20,000 desperate civilians have fled across the river Kiir, and are sheltering under trees from the rain.
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A new dimension of Christian persecution in India
The politics of Hindu nationalism, which fuelled Christian persecution for over a decade in India, seems to be losing ground. With this comes the hope that India will never witness an incident like the massive flurry of attacks in Kandhamal district of eastern Orissa state in 2008 which killed around 100 Christians and displaced over 50,000 people. This wish is expected to come true, but the absence of mass violence may not ensure the safety of the Christian minority.