Released October 1, 2008
COMPASS DIRECT NEWS © Summaries for September 2008
News from the Frontlines of Persecution
China - CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE OWNER AWAITS TRIAL
September 5 - Beijing Christian bookstore owner Shi Weihan is awaiting the outcome of an August 19 court appearance and may be back in court within 10 days, according to Compass sources. Denied proper medication and diet for his diabetes, Shi is almost unrecognizable" due to severe weight loss, according to family members. Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers initially arrested Shi on November 28, charging him with "illegal business practices" after he allegedly published Christian literature without authorization for distribution to house churches.
Court officials ordered his release on January 4, citing insufficient evidence. Officers arrested him again on March 19 and reportedly forced him to sign a "confession" convicting him of engaging in the printing and distribution of a large number of illegal publications. They also forced Shi's Antioch Eternal Life Church to close in June. Initially the Beijing PSB denied having Shi in custody, with officials claiming they did not know his whereabouts. After Shi's attorney Zhang Xingshui applied pressure, officers finally admitted having him and allowed a single visit with his attorney.
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Egypt
ONE CONVERT'S NEVER-ENDING STRUGGLE
September 12 (Compass Direct News) - Egypt's most famous convert to Christianity is a prisoner of his own home, hiding for his life. After Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy, 25, became the first Muslim-born Egyptian to file a case a year ago for his identification card to reflect his newfound faith, his face has been shown on TV channels and newspapers. Anywhere he goes, he might be recognized by fanatical Islamists bent on killing him - besides his own family members, who also want him dead. In the last eight months, since an Egyptian court closed his case in a Jan. 29 court ruling that declared it was against Islamic law for a Muslim to leave Islam, Hegazy has had to move five times with his wife and baby daughter. "The verdict for my case was discriminatory [on the part] of the judge," Hegazy told Compass in an interview last month. The judge based his decision on Islamic law, which says one can convert "up" in the Muslim hierarchy of religions - from Judaism and Christianity to Islam - but not vice versa. But even after the issue is fizzing out in the media, Hegazy said that his life is in danger - as is that of every convert in Egypt.
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Eritrea
CHRISTIANS LANGUISH IN PRISONS
September 24 (Compass Direct News) - An evangelist imprisoned since 2006 for his Christian activities is receiving especially harsh treatment because of his ministry to inmates. Sources said Teame Weldegebriel is on the brink of despair as he languishes at the Mai Sirwa Maximum Security Confinement prison. "It seems that hell has broken loose on me," Weldegebriel said. "Please tell the brethren to continue praying for me. I am not sure I will see them again." Weldegebriel's family is worried about his health after trying repeatedly, without success, to get permission to visit him. In Eritrea more than 2,000 Christians are imprisoned for their faith, including a Christian from a Full Gospel Church who was arrested in 2001. His wife last saw him in June 2007. She and her children were rounded up from a prayer meeting in mid-July and placed in a metal shipping container until their release last month, his wife said. "I was arrested with my children while having a prayer meeting with 20 other Christians," said the woman, who requested anonymity for security reasons. "I remember the horrible ordeal I went through with the children. After three weeks I was released with my two children, while the other Christian soldiers remained locked in the prison cells."
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India
MAOISTS SAY THEY KILLED HINDU LEADER
September 1 (Compass Direct News) - A Maoist group today claimed responsibility for killing Hindu extremist leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples in Orissa state on August 23, saying that fanatical Hindus' claims that Christians murdered him were "lies." The violence that has claimed the lives of least 36 people, most of them Christians, and destroyed hundreds of churches and homes continued over the weekend as Hindu extremists continued to blame Christians for the killing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) leader. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India-Maoist released a statement today saying that Sangh Parivar, the family of Hindu extremist groups led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, have deliberately misled people about Saraswati's death. "The Sangh Parivar leaders like Praveen Togadia have been trying to divert the people by uttering lies that it is not the Maoists but Christian organizations that had carried out the attack on the VHP leader," the Marxist group stated. Indo-Asian News Service reported today that the violence had spread to three more districts of Orissa.
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India
POLICE DO LITTLE TO PROTECT CHRISTIANS IN ORISSA
September 4 (Compass Direct News) - Christian victims of Hindu extremist violence who have fled to the capital of the eastern state of Orissa said state police have been mere spectators as mayhem continued a 12th consecutive day. Attacks on Christians and their property and institutions began in Orissa's Kandhamal district following the killing of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) leader, Laxmanananda Saraswati, and four of his disciples on August 23. Maoists claimed responsibility for the murders on Monday (Sept. 1), though the statement did nothing to slow Hindu extremist violence that Christian leaders say has claimed more than 100 lives. Among those who have fled to Bhubaneswar was Father Prabodha Kumar, a Catholic priest who reached the Catholic Archbishop's House in Bhubaneswar after a seven-day journey from Onjamundi village in Kandhamal. He was among other fearful sojourners at the house whose mobile phones constantly rang with news of more attacks from their relatives, friends and church members in interior villages of Kandhamal. Fr. Kumar looked deeply troubled after one such phone call yesterday. "My brother has been forced to reconvert' to Hinduism, as he was told that if he did not do so, his house would be destroyed," he said.
*** Photos of Ravindranath Pradhan and Padanpur orphanage are available
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India
HINDUS IN ORISSA MAYHEM HELP PROTECT CHRISTIANS
September 5 (Compass Direct News) - Asserting that most area Hindus are tolerant, peaceable and helped protect them, victims of ongoing anti-Christian violence in the eastern state of Orissa blamed the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) and other extremist groups for the terror of the past two weeks. Following the killing of a VHP leader, Laxmanananda Saraswati, and four of his associates in Kandhamal district on August 23, Christian leaders say more than 100 lives have been lost and thousands of houses, churches and institutions damaged or destroyed in the violence. The state government attributed the assassination of the VHP leader and his associates to Maoists who have since claimed responsibility for the murders, but the Hindu extremist groups continue to blame Christians. Asked if he condemned the violence on Christians, VHP Orissa State President Gauri Prasad Rath told Compass that he categorically did not. "You should ask me to condemn the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and his associates with AK-47s by Christians," he said.
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India
INCIDENTS IN TWO STATES SHAKE CHRISTIANS
September 8 (Compass Direct News) - Still reeling from violence in Orissa state, India's Christians suffered major blows in two other states over the weekend. As the Global Council of Indian Christians revised its estimate of deaths from the last two weeks of violence in Orissa state from "more than 100" to 53 today, Christians in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh were shocked when suspected Hindu extremists yesterday burned down the 86-year-old St. Bartholomew Church of North India. Christian leaders said suspected members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) burned down the venerable church after parishioners had elaborately decorated it for its 86th anniversary. In Chhattisgarh state, on Friday (September 5) about 20 Bajrang Dal extremists boarded a train at the Durgh railway station and took four babies no more than 2 years old from two nuns of the Missionaries of Charity and from two women helpers. Accusing the nuns of forced conversion, they turned them over to railway police. Subsequently the Hindu extremists beat a nun and a driver sent to help.
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India
ATTACKS, RECONVERSIONS' CONTINUE IN ORISSA
September 9 (Compass Direct News) - The spate of anti-Christian violence that began following the killing of a Hindu leader on Aug. 23 in Orissa's Kandhamal district continued yesterday despite a stream of meetings by Christian and rights groups with high government officials. At least 20 houses were burned last night and 70 Christian families forcibly reconverted' to Hinduism yesterday in separate incidents in the eastern state. There were also reports of Hindu extremists poisoning the water at relief camps in Kandhamal. Representatives of the Christian community in India have met with the president, the federal interior minister, the leader of the ruling United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, and several other political leaders to urge them to ensure protection of Christians in Orissa.
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India
CHRISTIANS ATTACKED IN KARNATAKA
September 10 (Compass Direct News) - As tensions continued in the eastern state of Orissa, Hindu nationalist groups intensified attacks on churches and Christian institutions in the southern state of Karnataka. Hindu extremists leveled false charges of "forcible" conversions against Christian workers as the Karnataka government, ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, prepared to close down churches. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians told Compass that more than 200 people attacked the Mission Action Prayer Fellowship church in Bada village, Davangere district on Sunday (September 7), accusing the Christians of "forcible" conversions. George said the commissioner of Davangere City had issued notices to demolish three churches - Eternal Life Church, Divine Healing Ministry church and Jesus Prayer Hall - in the city, claiming that their buildings were illegal. The three churches have been sealed. The Indian Express newspaper reported that the Davangere deputy commissioner labeled the churches "unauthorized," and a representative of the Christian Legal Association (CLA) told Compass that the official had also sent notices to 13 other churches asking them to obtain a "license" for holding worship services. "This is a violation of the religious freedom enshrined in the Indian Constitution," said the CLA source. "There is neither any such requirement anywhere in the country, nor is there any provision for such license in any government authority."
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India
VIOLENCE SPREADS TO FIVE MORE STATES
September 16 (Compass Direct News) - A policeman was killed today, the body of another victim of Hindu extremist violence was discovered and more houses and churches were burned in Orissa state's Kandhamal district even as anti-Christian violence spread to at least five more states across India over the weekend. Christians and churches were targeted in Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand following violence in Orissa that began following the assassination of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) leader, Laxmanananda Saraswati, and four of his disciples in Kandhamal district on August 23. A mob of around 500 rioters today killed a policeman and burned down a police station in Orissa's Kandhamal district, where Hindu extremists launched a spate of attacks three weeks ago blaming local Christians of killing Saraswati and his disciples. Maoists have claimed responsibility for the murders of the Hindu leaders. While the body of another person was found and at least 14 houses were burned on Sunday night (Sept. 14), a church and several houses were set ablaze on the previous day. Authorities found the body of Purander Naik, who had fled to a relief camp where mainly Christians had taken refuge, in his village of Nilungia. "Naik was at the G. Udayagiri relief camp for over 10 days but had left for his village to see the condition of his house and poultry," The Statesman reported. "His family was at the relief camp. Apparently he was killed during his visit to the village."
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India
BRIEFS: RECENT INCIDENTS OF PERSECUTION
Karnataka, September 17 (Compass Direct News) - A mob of about 300 people attacked and torched a Christian prayer hall on Sept. 7 in Bada village, Davangere district just after prayers concluded at about 9 a.m., according to the The Hindu. The assailants broke the asbestos ceiling and windows and set fire to material inside, including Bibles, a cross and a pulpit, the daily reported. A pastor identified only as Lukas E., who was at the site of the attack, described the attackers as "locals" but refused to name them. Police have registered a case, though the pastor said he did not wish to file charges against anyone because they were his "own people." Villagers who accused the pastor of "converting the locals" by luring them with gifts and by "demeaning Hindu gods and religious customs" told the newspaper that the attack was "spontaneous." A police official told Compass that 10 persons have been taken into custody. The incident occurred even as prohibitory orders were in force for an area within a 200-meter radius of three other prayer halls in Davangere town, which have been under attack since mid-August. The Hindu nationalist Hindu Jagarana Vedike had threatened to forcibly close down these "unauthorized places" if the district administration did not do so by Sept. 6, stated the daily. - NC
Karnataka - Police on Sept. 6 arrested a pastor in Terekere, Chikmagalur district. Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that on Aug. 31 nearly 40 Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists had disrupted Sunday worship of Emmanuel Church and threatened pastor C.S. John, warning him to hold no further Christian worship. On Sept. 6 nearly 25 intolerant Hindus came to Emmanuel Church, shouting anti-Christian slogans and making false conversions allegations against Pastor John. A GCIC representative told Compass that the Hindu extremists forced Pastor John to a local police station and filed a false complaint against him for "malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings," and insulting a class of people's religion or religious beliefs. With GCIC intervention, the pastor was released on bail on Sept. 8. - NC
Karnataka - Hindu extremists on Aug. 31 stormed Sharon Church in Holalkere block of Chitradurga district, Karnataka beat the pastor, dragged believers out of Sunday worship and forcibly applied Kumkum red circles on their foreheads. As is customary in India, police were mute spectators. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that as pastor N. Kumar had finished preaching, nearly 25 intolerant Hindus led by area extremists identified only as Srinivas, Hanumantha and Basavaraj barged into the church shouting "Jai Bajrangi [Hail Lord Hanuman]." Armed with wooden clubs and saffron flags, the extremists slapped Pastor Kumar and made false accusations of forcible conversions. According to GCIC, the extremists threatened the assembly of around 35 believers that they had to convert to Hinduism or else be smacked with clubs. Grabbing him by his collar, the extremists dragged the pastor outside the church, other frightened believers were made to follow, and kumkum was applied to their foreheads. The believers were warned that they would be tonsured if they worshipped in Sharon Church again. The watching policemen then took Pastor Kumar to Hollakera police station. The GCIC brokered a compromise between the Hindu extremists and the church: Pastor Kumar did not file a complaint, and the extremists agreed not to harass the believers. Kumar was given first aid at Hollakera government hospital for a bleeding ear. - NC
Karnataka - Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists on Aug. 31 stormed Full Gospel Church at Sharavati Nagar, Old Hubli, beating a pastor and others and making false allegations of forced conversions. Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), reported that as worship was going on a group of nearly 30 extremists led by D. Kabadi, Jagadish Katti Satish and another person barged in shouting Hindu devotional chants, walked up to the dais and slapped and punched the Rev. David Perumal. When pastor Thankaraj Dhansingh rushed to the aid of Perumal, he too was repeatedly hit on his head and back. The Hindu extremists cursed congregants and chased them away. Police arrived and took Rev. Dhansingh and Perumal to the police station, with the intolerant Hindus following shouting anti-Christian slogans. With the GCIC's intervention, a First Information Report was filed against the extremists, George said. Perumal was admitted to a medical clinic for treatment. At press time no arrests had been made. - NC
Karnataka - About 30 Hindu extremists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) on Aug. 24 handed over a pastor and 10 others to the Frazer town police station for preaching the gospel and pressured police to file a case against them in Bangalore. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the pastor, identified only as Nelson, and the 10 others were preaching and distributing gospel tracts in Doddigunta when the extremists began threatening them and took them to a police station, where they were arrested for "hurting religious sentiments," statements conducive to public mischief and unlawful assembly. The Christians were released on bail after two days. - MS
Karnataka - Hindu extremists on Aug. 27 disrupted a prayer convention, accused a pastor of forced conversions and beat him in Kala Bhavan, Gadag. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Hindu extremists from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) disrupted the two day-prayer meeting held with prior police permission, brutally beat a pastor identified only as Santosh and dragged him to the police station. The extremists forced the pastor to give a written statement saying he would not conduct future prayer meetings or share the gospel with anyone. He was released after he was forced to submit a written statement to police. Again on Aug. 28, the intolerant Hindus threatened the pastor at his house, saying that they would burn him and his family if they did not leave the area within 24 hours. The pastor filed a police complaint. GCIC told Compass that a First Information Report was not filed, and that the two parties reached a compromise. - MS
Karnataka - Police on Aug. 27 arrested a pastor on charges of hurting religious sentiments and "uttering words with intent to insult the religion of any class" after Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists filed a false complaint of forcible conversion against him in Arasikere, Hobli, Davangere. Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said that nearly 100 extremists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bajrang Dal came by van to the Full Gospel Assembly Church. Pastor K.P. Rajshekar was not at the church building, and the Hindu extremists angrily asked four Christians identified only as Nagappa, Umesh, Yogaraju and Mallesha Naik, about allurements they supposedly received to convert to Christianity. Asha Devi, a GCIC representative, told Compass that the extremists also forced the four believers to the Yellamma Temple, smeared vermillion on their foreheads and made them bow to Hindu idols. "However, they have not renounced Jesus Christ," Devi told Compass. As is customary in India, police jailed the victims of Hindu extremist aggression. At press time, the GCIC was seeking their release on bail. The extremists had also demanded that the four Christians provide details about the pastor and other families who worshiped there and subsequently went to Pastor Rajshekar's house, dragged him out and shoved him into the van along with his wife Anapoorna and daughter Geetha. They took them to a police station and filed bogus charges of fraudulent conversion against the pastor and his family.- NC
Karnataka - Police on Aug. 24 detained a pastor after Hindu extremists stormed an evangelistic meeting, attacking the pastor and bringing forth false witnesses to testify against him in Ramalingeshwara Camp, Koppal district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Pastor Jeeva Prakash of the Bethesda Prayer House was preaching at a gospel meeting in Ramalingeshwara Camp, where nearly 100 believers had congregated, when a mob led by two local extremists identified only as Virupakshappa and Giri of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh barged into the assembly shouting curses. They slapped Prakash and attempted to make him chant "Jai Sri Ram [Hail Lord Rama]." In spite of repeated hitting and punching on his stomach and head, Pastor Praskash staunchly refused to give in, at which point the extremists dragged the pastor and a few others to a police station, the report stated. GCIC regional coordinator Laxminarayan Gowda told Compass, "The extremists brought two persons identified only as Chinnappa and Lakshmamma, who falsely testified that Prakash had promised them money to attend the meeting." With GCIC intervention, the pastor and believers were released at around 10:45 p.m. without being charged. - NC
Orissa - Evangelist Prem Dan Khora was arrested on Aug. 22 after Hindu extremists belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) filed false complaints of "forcible" conversion and destruction of idols against him in Dasamantapur, Koraput district. According to the Global Council of Indian Christians, Khora was distributing gospel tracts in the area when Hindu extremists from the VHP were demonstrating against a commission set up to probe the December 2007 anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal district. The extremists snatched the tracts and thrashed him for nearly an hour, leaving him barely conscious. They dragged him to the police station, where he was arrested for "hurting religious sentiments" and trespassing. GCIC told Compass that the whereabouts of the evangelist remained unknown at press time. - MS
Maharashtra - Kashinath Kadale, a tribal Christian laborer, was allegedly beaten and hanged to death by seven anti-Christian assailants from Jamblipada village in Thane district on Aug. 21, the national daily Times of India reported. At midnight the attackers barged into the house and thrashed the couple, with Kadale's wife Tai escaping and returning hours later only to find her husband hanging from the roof. She filed a complaint with Jawahar police, saying they were sleeping in the house when they were attacked by seven unknown men. The Rev. Sanjiv Andrap, the village pastor, was quoted by Times of India as stating that the reason for the attack was that the villagers opposed Christian families and wanted them to leave the village. Over the last three years, on five occasions villagers had tried to evict the Christian families from the village, the daily reported. But the report stated that Inspector Rajendra Naik of the Jawahar police station said that the allegation made by the deceased's wife was untrue, that the couple was drunk and "abused" the seven people who were going past their house. According to the police investigation, the seven people had an argument with the couple and later left. Abraham Mathai, vice-chairman of the minority commission told Compass that tribal peoples in the Thane area are constantly vulnerable to attacks from the local Hindu extremists. - NC
Karnataka - Hindu extremists in Chikka Savananoor village, Gadag district on Aug. 20 beat an evangelist, made false accusations of forced conversion, dragged him to the village temple and tied him to a pillar to mock him. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that Nagaraj Yellappa Limbuji, a private tutor who worships in Shalom Prayer Hall, was en route to work when a group of nearly 20 intolerant Hindus stopped him on the road and made false allegations of forcible conversions. The extremists slapped Limbuji before taking him to the village temple and tying him to one of the temple pillars. The GCIC's Sajan K. George told Compass that the extremists kept him tied to the pillar for nearly one and a half hours, continuously mocking and cursing him. "One of the believers in the village informed the police, who arrived and set him free," George said. "Limbuji has refused to register a complaint as he has forgiven the extremists." - NC
Andhra Pradesh - Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Aug. 17 demolished the half-built Jesus Prayer House Church building in Uppal hills, Hyderabad. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that nearly 20 extremists led by Shekar Reddy marched towards the church structure under construction and, armed with iron rods, began harassing pastor David Raj, who was supervising construction. They made false accusations of forced conversion. Reddy also claimed that the land belonged to Hindus and that Christians had no right to worship or construct a church in the area. The intolerant Hindus shoved Raj to the ground and began demolishing the church building. Lion Francis, regional GCIC coordinator, told Compass that Pastor Raj filed a complaint at Uppal police station, but at press time no arrests had been made. - NC
Uttarakhand - Six Christian workers and a Bible college student were beaten by a group of Hindu fanatics on India's Independence day, Aug. 15, reports The Persecution Times. The mob became enraged after they saw Bible college student Rasul Sarvak passing out gospel literature with a team of other students from the college. When the mob attacked, the other students were able to escape, but Sarvak, the youngest in the team, was captured and beaten as the intolerant Hindus tried without success to force him to deny his faith in Jesus. "You are trying to make our country a Christian nation," they yelled at him. They dragged Sarvak to the police station, where officers placed him in custody to protect him from the furious mob. Four Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers arrived at the police station for Sarvak's release, but the fanatics stopped them outside and beat them at length in the presence of police. Two more GFA workers drove up to the police station and were also brutally attacked, with one of them suffering a severe eye injury. The mob vandalized the GFA vehicle and threw it in a ditch. They then turned to the vehicle used by the first group of GFA workers and tried to burn it, but police at last stopped them. The Hindu extremists left, and police transported Sarvak and the six GFA workers to another station to keep them safe. There, some local Christians came and filed paperwork, and the group was released. - SB
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India
TWO STATES WARNED AGAINST ALLOWING PERSECUTION
September 19 (Compass Direct News) - After three weeks of widespread attacks on Christians and their property in Orissa state and other parts of the country, the federal government finally warned two states that their failure to prevent violence could lead to the imposition of "President's Rule." As more incidents of violence were reported from Orissa and the southern state of Karnataka yesterday, the federal government ruled by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) issued an official warning to the two states under Article 355 of the Indian Constitution, Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported. The article requires state governments to function with due respect to constitutional provisions, setting up a potential showdown between the federal UPA, led by the Congress Party (Indian National Congress), and Orissa and Karnataka states ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "We dare the Centre to go a step ahead and implement Article 356 [empowering the federal government to impose emergency rule]," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told IANS. "They will have to bear the consequences and the people of the country would give them a fitting reply." In Orissa's Kandhamal district, mobs burned down two prayer houses on Wednesday night (Sept. 17) in Mundigarh and Lankagarh areas under Tumudibandh police station in Kandhamal, reported The Indian Express daily. Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Raphael Cheenath received a death threat. "They [Hindu groups] threatened to kill me," he said. "Is this how civilized society behaves?" Attacks continued also in three districts of Karnataka.
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India
MURDER, RAPE, ARSON CONTINUE
September 24 (Compass Direct News) - The unprecedented wave of anti-Christian attacks that began a month ago continued in the past week with more incidents of murder, rape and arson, mostly in the eastern state of Orissa and southern state of Karnataka. Two Christians were also found murdered in the northern state of Uttarakhand. According to The Indian Express, around 2,000 people surrounded the Raikia police station yesterday to demand the release of two fellow villagers from Masakadia village who had been arrested on charges of arson and rioting. Security personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) opened fire to prevent the mob from entering the police station. One person died and two were critically injured from the gunfire. Attacks on Christians continued in the Kandhamal district. A young woman was reportedly gang-raped by unidentified rioters on Sunday night (Sept. 21), and a man was allegedly killed on Friday (Sept. 19). The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that Iswar Digal, who had taken refuge at Ghumusar Udayagiri relief camp and was believed to be Christian, went missing after he went to meet his ailing father in Gatingia village on Friday (Sept. 19). Digal's wife, Runima Digal, filed a police complaint stating that Hindu extremists killed her husband after he had gone to the village along with her to visit his father. She said the extremists had warned them not to return to the village if they did not convert from Christianity to Hinduism. Amid persistent tensions in various parts of the country following the violence in Orissa, two Catholics were found murdered on Monday (Sept. 22) in the Dehra Dun district of the northern state of Uttarakhand. A 56-year-old Catholic preacher, Sadhu Astey, and his disciple, identified only as Mercy, 32, were found strangled to death at their prayer center in Chotta Rampur village, reported The Tribune.
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India
BRIEFS: RECENT INCIDENTS OF PERSECUTION
Uttar Pradesh, September 26 (Compass Direct News) - Police on Sept. 21 arrested pastor Sunil Rana in Gonda district on an anonymous tip that "forcible conversion activities" were taking place at his church's Sunday worship. A representative of the Evangelical Fellowship of India told Compass that at around 12:30 p.m. police came to the Believers Church to make the arrest. Pastor Rana was charged for "forceful conversion" and released on bail on Sept. 23. - NC
Karnataka - Police on Sept. 20 arrested a pastor and others in Siddapur, Uttara Kannada district on false charges of "forcible conversion." The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the independent pastor identified only as Biju and five evangelists were speaking with children in Guya Palakere village when a local Hindu extremist identified only as Halappa angrily questioned them and falsely accused them of forcible conversions. Halappa telephoned other local extremists, and soon a mob of nearly 25 intolerant Hindus surrounded the Christians and took them to the Siddapur police station. They were charged with "hurting religious sentiments," statements conducive to public mischief and unlawful assembly. With GCIC intervention they were released on bail on Sept. 22. - NC
Karnataka - Police on Sept. 19 sealed Bethel Church in Mysore city and detained pastor Samuel Channaiah. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that at around 10:30 a.m. three policemen led by a senior official identified only as Shivaram came to the rented church and questioned Channaiah about the prayer services. Shivaram falsely accused Channaiah of forcible conversions, sealed the church and took the pastor with them to the Vijayanagar police station. With GCIC intervention, Channaiah was released at around 5 p.m. without being charged. "No Sunday worship was held on Sept. 21, and the landlord has asked Channaiah to vacate the premises," a GCIC representative told Compass. - NC
Karnataka - Police on Sept. 17 stopped a pastor's training program in Arsikere, Hassan district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that independent pastor Hoysala Raj was attending a four-day training at St. Thomas Church on Sept. 16-19 and staying at the Vijayalakshmi Lodge. As he was returning to the lodge after a session, a policeman identified only as Nemiraju recognized Raj, whom he had previously arrested. At around 11 p.m. Nemiraju and two other police officers came to the lodge and began beating and cursing Raj. Nemiraju then took Raj to the police station, angrily questioning him about the training program and the pastors who were attending. With GCIC intervention, Raj was released Sept. 17 at 8 p.m., and he received treatment at a private clinic for internal injuries. On Sept. 17 at around 9 a.m., police went to St. Thomas Church and forced the organizers to close down the training program. - NC
Madhya Pradesh - Three suspected Hindu extremists vandalized and set fire to St. Peter and Paul Cathedral at Pentinaka, Sadar, Jabalpur at 8 p.m. on Sept. 18. Father Anthony Rocky said the attackers broke into the building unnoticed and broke window panes, desecrated the altar, destroyed a cross and statues and burned Bibles. "They carried kerosene oil packed in polythene bags and spread it in the entire church," Fr. Rocky said. "Setting it aflame, they absconded." Father Davis George, principal of the adjoining St. Aloysius College, said that bystanders informed him about the fire in the cathedral. "There is no doubt that the Dharma Sena, led by Yogesh Agarwal has done this," Fr. George said. He told Compass that the Hindu extremist group threatened church leaders some 10 days prior, saying, "We will turn the face of the church within a week's time, as done in Orissa." The Dharma Sena and Agarwal have been involved in many cases of intimidation and attacks on the Christian community of Jabalpur. Father Anand Muttungal, spokesman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, said Madhya Pradesh has seen more than 110 cases of violence against Christians since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in December 2003. "In spite of clear evidence, the authorities have failed to take any action against the culprits," Fr. Muttungal told Compass. "As the elections are at hand, the authorities don't want to annoy the majorities." - SB
Andhra Pradesh - Hindu extremists on Sept. 7 stormed a prayer meeting in Ayodhya Nagar, near Madanapally in Chittoor district. Dr. Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), said independent pastor T. Peter was blessing the new house of a widowed Christian with about 25 others present. As the prayer service was in progress, nearly 20 Hindu extremists led by a Vishwa Hindu Parishad state leader, B.R. Narendra, barged into the house shouting curses at the believers. They slapped Pastor Peter and made false allegations of forcible conversion, beating and chasing away the participants. A GCIC representative told Compass that Ravindra Babu attempted to shield Pastor Peter and the Hindu extremists repeatedly slapped and punched him, breaking two teeth. The intolerant Hindus returned to the house at around 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 and warned the widowed homeowner that her house would be bombed if prayer meetings continued there. Pastor Peter filed a complaint against the Hindu extremists at Madanapally police station, and the attackers concocted a complaint against the pastor for "forceful conversion." - NC
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India
CHRISTIAN COUPLE KILLED, HOUSES TORCHED IN ORISSA
September 30 (Compass Direct News) - A Christian couple was found murdered, a woman killed, numerous houses and churches burned and low-intensity bombs exploded at relief camps in the past week in Orissa state's Kandhamal district, where Hindu extremist violence began more than a month ago. On Sunday (Sept. 28), police found the body of Priyatamma Digal, an auxiliary nurse and midwife, in a river. On Monday, the body of her husband, Meghanath, was recovered. According to The Times of India newspaper, the Christian couple was killed last Thursday (Sept. 25). This morning attacks by unidentified armed groups in the villages of Rudangia, Telingia and Gadaguda in Kandhamal resulted in more than 100 houses burned and the death of Ramani Nayak of Rudangia village, reported The Hindu. Her religious affiliation was not known at press time. Eight people were seriously injured in the attacks, according to reports, and about 20 people received minor injuries. Bomb blasts yesterday rocked three Kandhamal relief camps in the Nuagaon area, Mahasinghi village and Baliguda town, reported the Press Trust of India (PTI). No casualties were reported, but the explosions left residents of the relief camps fearing for their lives. "Since they have been successful in exploding bombs near the heavily guarded relief camp, there is no guarantee that the explosion will not take place in other camps," one refugee told PTI.
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Indonesia
LAND DISPUTE LEADS TO ATTACKS ON CHRISTIAN HUB
September 3 (Compass Direct News) - A land dispute led to two attacks on the headquarters of the Indonesian Christian Students' Movement (GMKI) and its parent ministry, the Alliance of Indonesian Churches (PGI), last week (August 26 and 28). Sources said an illegal land deal in Jakarta has created the bitter dispute between the GMKI and a private company that claims it has the legal right to build on land previously occupied by GMKI. GMKI and PGI share an office on the disputed land. On August 26 volunteer Public Order officials - who normally mediate local disputes, but who in this case have sided with the private company laying claim to the land, Kencana Indotama Persada Co. - threw stones at the Christian organizations' offices and damaged doors, windows and student motorbikes. On Thursday (Aug. 28), the Public Order officers again attacked the premises, this time using heavy implements to break glass panes and damage other property. Students present fled to a nearby office of the Indonesia Bible Institute. Policemen standing nearby on the street made no attempt to intervene.
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Indonesia
PASTOR ASSAULTED, THREATENED
September 18 (Compass Direct News) - A Public Order official's colleagues kicked Charles Hutahaean, chairman of the Indonesian Christian Students' Movement (GMKI) in Jakarta, in the stomach last week and threatened to kill other GMKI staff members. The Public Order official, Crisman Siregar, threatened to stab Hutahaean with a bayonet in the confrontation between him and his colleagues and the GMKI leader on Sept. 9. Previously Siregar had warned Hutahaean to "be careful with your life." Volunteer Public Order officials normally mediate local conflicts, among other community functions, but in this case have sided with a private company in a land dispute with GMKI. Land granted to the church was sold to a business venture, the Kencana Indotama Persada (KIP) Co., without the consent of GMKI, and construction workers have already partly demolished an old GMKI office building. GMKI now shares a newer office building with its parent ministry, the Alliance of Indonesian Churches. When KIP construction workers built a wall separating the new building from the old, GMKI students demolished it, sparking two violent attacks by Public Order officials on Aug. 26 and 28.
*** Photos of Charles Hutahaean and the damaged GMKI office building are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.
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Indonesia
PASTOR FORCED TO STOP WORSHIP SERVICES IN HOME
September 25 (Compass Direct News) - Residents in North Jakarta have ordered the pastor of a small congregation to cease holding services in his home, despite a letter of permission issued by the Religious Affairs department. On Sept. 12 village officials in South Rawa Badak, Koja district called a meeting with pastor Syaiful Hamzah and his wife Tiolida Sihotang, police officers, and representatives from the village mosque. At the meeting, officials urged Hamzah and his wife to sign a document agreeing to cease all worship services in their home, effectively rejecting permission granted by Religious Affairs officials. A sympathetic Muslim cleric, Wasi Sholeh, informed Hamzah that "certain people" had made violent threats against him, and that he could not guarantee Hamzah's safety if he refused to sign the agreement. The couple eventually signed the document under duress.
*** Photos of pastor Syaiful Hamzah and his wife Tiolida Sihotang are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.
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Iran
CHRISTIANS CHARGED WITH APOSTASY'
September 10 (Compass Direct News) - Two Iranian Christians have officially been charged with "apostasy," or leaving Islam, as a draft law making the death penalty mandatory for those convicted of the charge is set to be debated in Iran's Parliament. Mahmood Matin Azad, 52, and Arash Basirat (previously reported Bandari), 44, have been in prison since May 15, when they were arrested in Shiraz. Sources who spoke to the two Christians' defense lawyer explained that a written order of the formal charge of apostasy was unusual and an indication of the severity and complexity of the case. With the apostasy bill debated in Parliament, some Iranian Christians fear that authorities are seeking to make an example of the two prisoners or give the prospective law a "test run."
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Iran
MARTYR'S SON DETAINED IN WAVE OF ARRESTS
September 10 (Compass Direct News) - Five arrests in three cities across Iran in August suggest a continued crackdown on Iranian Christians by authorities, sources told Compass. The most recent of the arrests took place on Aug. 21, when Ramtin Soodmand, son of martyred Assemblies of God pastor Hossein Soodmand, turned himself in after repeated calls from the Ministry of Information in Tehran. His father was executed by the state in 1990 for leaving Islam. The week before Ramtin Soodmand turned himself in, another Christian in Mashhad, Iman Rashidi, was arrested. In the city of Kerman in south central Iran, a couple identified as Darioush and Shirin were reportedly arrested on Aug. 8. And a Christian member of Iran's Kurdish community, Shahin Zanboori, was arrested on Aug. 9 in the southwestern city of Arak. Secret police detained Zanboori while he was evangelizing, sources told Compass. While in prison he was tortured during interrogation and suffered a broken arm and leg, but he told sources that he "felt God's presence in spite of the horrific treatment he received."
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Iran
APOSTASY' BILL APPEARS LIKELY TO BECOME LAW
September 23 (Compass Direct News) - Without international pressure there is little to stop the Iranian government from ratifying a bill that will make "apostasy," or leaving Islam, a capital crime, say human rights groups and experts. On Sept. 9 the Iranian parliament approved a new penal code by a vote of 196-7 calling for a mandatory death sentence for apostates, or those who leave Islam. The Christian and Baha'i communities of Iran are most likely to be affected by this decision. "Unless there is a coordinated and very strong effort from the international community to place pressure on Iran for this, I don't think there will be anything stopping the Iranian government from passing this legislation," Joseph Grieboski, founder of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, told Compass.
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Iraq
SON OF KIDNAPPED, MURDERED CHRISTIAN KILLED
September 23 (Compass Direct News) - An unknown group of armed men killed a Syrian Catholic in violence-plagued Mosul, Iraq two weeks after his father was kidnapped and murdered. The gunmen killed Rayan Nafei Jamooa near his home on Sept. 10. Few details have emerged in the murder case, but sources said he and his father were targeted purely for their faith. Nassar Jamooa, the victim's father, was kidnapped two weeks before his son's murder; the elder man's body was found four days later in the city's western industrial area. A shrinking minority in Iraq, Christians are frequently kidnapped for a mix of financial and religious reasons, but Nassar Jamooa's kidnappers did not ask for any ransom. He and his son were targeted strictly for their faith, said a clergyman. "Nobody asked about money, they just kidnapped and killed him," said Father Bashar Warda, dean of St. Peter's Seminary in Ankawa, a small town near Erbil. "The reason [for Nassar Jamooa's kidnapping] would definitely be a religious one."
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Kenya
ISLAMISTS ATTACK CHURCH IN NORTHERN TOWN
September 29 (Compass Direct News) - A longstanding effort to replace a church with a mosque in Kenya's northern town of Garissa culminated in an attack by 50 Muslim youths this month that left the worship building in ruins. The gang stormed the building of Redeemed Gospel Church on Sept. 14 and pelted the congregation with stones, sending many Christians fleeing while others became embroiled in fistfights. Ten Christians received hospital treatment for minor injuries and were released. Church leaders said the Muslim mob also destroyed pews, damaged the church building's walls of corrugated iron, smashed the glass-mounted pulpit and burned the church banner with its stand. Government security intelligence had reported that Muslims planned to destroy the church if it continued to operate within the residential area. A missionary said that Muslims have distributed leaflets threatening to destroy all churches in Garissa. "It is quite unfair that the Redeemed Gospel Church has been displaced and is now praying under a tree in an open space with no amenities," he said.
***Photos of the ruined church and the Rev. Ibrahim Kamwaro are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.
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Laos
CHRISTIANS PRESSURED TO RENOUNCE FAITH
September 18 (Compass Direct News) - Confronted with evidence of rights abuses yesterday, an official in Champasak province, Laos, said district officials had "misunderstood" religious freedom regulations when they arrested and detained two men for converting to Christianity, according to Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF). District police officers in cooperation with the chief of Jick village in Phonthong district arrested Khambarn Kuakham and Phoun Koonlamit on Sept. 8, accusing them of "believing in Christianity, a foreign religion," HRWLRF reported. Both men were placed in criminal detention for five days and ordered to renounce their faith, the Lao Movement for Human Rights confirmed. Officials warned Kuakham that he had violated the terms of his employment by having contact with Christians and converting to the Christian faith. He must renounce his faith in order to return to his teaching position, they said. If he refused, he would face a lengthy detention. In Boukham village, Savannakhet, three Christians remain in detention for their faith, HRWLRF reported yesterday. Officials have kept Pastor Sompong Supatto, 32, Boot Chanthaleuxay, 18, and Khamvan Chanthaleuxay, 18, in handcuffs and foot stocks since their arrest on Aug. 3, causing considerable pain. Both Boot Chanthaleuxay and Khamvan Chanthaleuxay were suffering from loss of feeling and infection in their legs and feet due to lack of blood circulation.
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Laos
VILLAGE TO EXPEL 55 CHRISTIANS
September 25 (Compass Direct News) - The chief of Boukham village in Savannakhet province, Laos, on Friday (Sept. 19) called a special community meeting to resolve the "problem" of eight resident Christian families who have refused to give up their faith. The meeting concluded with plans to expel all 55 Christians from the village. Although all adult members of a village are usually invited to such meetings, on this occasion the Christians were deliberately excluded, according to rights group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF). Pastor Sompong Supatto, 32, and two other believers from the village, Boot Chanthaleuxay, 18, and Khamvan Chanthaleuxay, also 18, remain in detention in the nearby Ad-Sapangthong district police detention cell. HRWLRF earlier reported that police have held the men in handcuffs and wooden foot stocks since their arrest on Aug. 3, causing numbness and infection in their legs and feet due to lack of blood circulation. Authorities have said they will release the three only if they renounce their faith.
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Mexico
THREE FAMILY MEMBERS MURDERED IN CHIAPAS
September 3 (Compass Direct News) - When the 11-year-old daughter of Antonio Gomez became ill of a stomach ailment, her father decided that it was due to witchcraft committed by his evangelical neighbor. Gomez, of the Jolitontic community of Chalchihuitan municipality in Chiapas state, and seven friends on August 23 allegedly killed three adults - the parents and their eldest son - and wounded six children with machetes. The attackers burst into the hut of the family to kill first the eldest son, Rene, 32. They then slashed the mother, Marcela Hernandez Giron Gomez, and the father, Pedro Gomez Diaz. Mariano Lopez Perez, public prosecutor of Indian Justice, reportedly said neighbors regarded the father in the attacked family, Gomez Diaz, as "an evangelical who prayed a great deal." The neighbors reportedly denied that the family believed in or practiced any kind of witchcraft. According to Tuxtla Gutierrez-based Cuarto Poder newspaper in Chiapas, all eight of the men who participated in the massacre of three Indians in Jolitontic are now in jail in San Cristobal de las Casas, awaiting justice.
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Nigeria
MUSLIM EXTREMISTS BURN CHURCH BUILDING
September 2 (Compass Direct News) - Muslim extremists on Sunday (Aug. 31) set ablaze a Christ Apostolic Church building in the Baboko area of this city in central Nigeria's Kwara state. The Rev. Samuel Ogowole told Compass that area Muslims had complained that the church building was located near a mosque. Compass found that the church building was 500 meters from the Baboko mosque, but to appease the Muslim community the Kwara state government had offered church leaders 3 million naira (US$25,580) and ordered the congregation to relocate. Church leaders rejected the order, saying they had spent nearly seven times that much to construct the church building. Rev. Ogowole told Compass that Muslims initially applied pressure on town planning authorities in 2005. "This ultimately resulted in a relocation notice asking us to relocate the church out of the area in seven days," he said. "However, we objected to the relocation order. Our position was that relocating to another place would mean creating hardship for our members here, who would have to travel many kilometers in order to worship."
*** Photos of the gutted church, the Rev. Samuel Ogowole and the Rev. Cornelius Fawenu are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.
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Pakistan
ELDERLY CHRISTIAN KILLED IN AXE MURDER
September 4 (Compass Direct News) - Four Pakistani Muslims killed an elderly woman with an axe over a dispute with her husband, who has been unable to prosecute them due to his low social status as a Christian. Case workers said the alleged culprits targeted the couple for theft and later murder because they believed Pakistan's legal system would not prosecute them for murdering Christians. The suspects' connections to mafia and national politicians further emboldened them, they said. "The Muslims assume the Christians are sheep and don't have any weight," said Sohail Johnson, case worker and chief coordinator of Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan, a Non-Governmental Organization that supports Christian prisoners throughout the Punjab province. "The culprits thought, [The Christians] have no voice. Nothing will happen if we do something,'" he said. Noban Bibi, 65, was killed on July 2 in Pakistan's eastern Kasur province in the village of Khraper.
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Pakistan
PARTIAL VICTORY SEEN IN RULING ON KIDNAPPED GIRLS
September 15 (Compass Direct News) - Christian human rights lawyers in Pakistan saw a partial legal victory in a judge's ruling last week that one of two kidnapped girls be returned to her Christian parents. The judge further ruled that her sister be free to choose whether to go with the Muslim man who allegedly forced her to convert and marry him. Justice Malik Saeed Ejaz ruled on Tuesday (Sept. 9) that 10-year-old Aneela Masih be returned to her parents - an unprecedented legal victory for Christian parents of a girl who supposedly converted to Islam, according to one lawyer - while leaving her sister, 13-year-old Saba Masih, free to choose whether to go with Amjad Ali, a Muslim man who married her after the June 26 kidnapping. Saba Masih, whose birth certificate indicates that she is now 13 but who testified that she is 17, said she did not want to return to her parents and tried to keep her little sister from returning to them. Their Muslim captors have repeatedly threatened the two girls that their parents would harm them if they returned. The older sister is not willing to meet with any of the family members or her parents, said Rashid Rehman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. "It's normal behavior," he told Compass. "She was tutored and brainwashed by the family of her husband Ali, and naturally they made up her mind that her parents will hurt her and treat her inhumanely."
*** Photos of Aneela Masih are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.
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Turkey
TESTIMONY SHOWS MALATYA MURDERS PREMEDITATED
September 15 (Compass Direct News) - Testimony on Friday (Sept. 12) in the murder case of three Christians here indicates the attack was premeditated for at least two suspects, despite the defense team's insistence that the killers acted spontaneously. Two Turkish Christians who converted from Islam, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, and a German, Tilmann Geske, were brutally tortured and killed on April 18, 2007. Mahmut Kudas, one of three witnesses called to testify, said murder suspect Cuma Ozdemir met with him the week before the murder and said that he was going to tell him something important. "There are 49 house churches and priests in Malatya," Ozdemir told Kudas. When Kudas asked him what he was thinking of doing, he replied, "Those who know this will die. I will become a martyr." Another witness, Mehmet Uludag, a former classmate of some of the suspects, said he also spoke with Ozdemir before the murders. Uludag said Ozdemir told him that he and two others were about to do something big. In forthcoming hearings, plaintiff attorneys will try to accuse these witnesses of aiding and abetting the murderers, said Orhan Kemal Cengiz, leading the team of plaintiff lawyers. "They knew what was going to happen, so they should have talked to prosecutors or police officers," Cengiz told Compass.
*** Photos of Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel and Tilmann Geske are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct News for pricing and transmittal.
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Vietnam
AUTHORITIES BULLDOZE HISTORIC BUILDING IN LAND DISPUTE
September 26 (Compass Direct News) - Authorities in Hanoi have responded to months of Catholic prayer vigils and demonstrations over disputed land by destroying the one-time residence of the papal nuncio in central Hanoi. In suddenly bulldozing the land that once served as the Vatican embassy and residence near St. Joseph's Cathedral last Friday (Sept. 19), the government broke its promise to Catholic leaders in February to negotiate a settlement concerning the property. The destruction of the building held sacred by Catholics is the latest blow to Christians' long struggle to get the government to return confiscated church properties. Catholic, Protestant and other religious leaders deemed the government response to peaceful Catholic pressure a serious setback for religious freedom. Authorities cite Vietnamese law stipulating that lands subject to "land management and socialist land reform policies in place before 1991" cannot be considered. This week officials delivered a written warning to Archbishop Hanoi Ngo Qu Kiet warning him of "extreme action" if he did not stop the daily prayer vigils. They also issued a warning to four priests at a Hanoi church locked in the land dispute. The archbishop and priests are accused of "stirring the population" and encouraging illegal religious activity.
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