24/04/2011 - Beijing detains illegal church members on Easter

Beijing detains illegal church members on Easter

 

 

AP – Chinese youths detained by police officers from an area where members of a unregistered church planned … 

 

By ALEXA OLESEN, Associated Press Alexa Olesen, Associated Press – Sun Apr 24, 4:35 am ET

 

BEIJING – Chinese police detained at least 30 Christians belonging to an unregistered Beijing church as the congregation gathered Sunday for an Easter service, a church member said.

Police stopped the worshippers from the unregistered Shouwang church as they gathered near a public plaza in the city's university district, then bused them to a local police station. The Associated Press saw about a dozen people taken away but a church member said at least 30 were detained.

Shouwang members have been trying to meet at the plaza in Beijing's Haidian district every Sunday since the congregation was evicted from its usual rented place of worship three weeks ago, but they have been detained or put under house arrest each time.

Lu Jia, a Shouwang member who was under house arrest from Saturday night until Sunday afternoon, said by telephone that he and his wife held a half-hour service at home using a sermon their pastor uploaded to the Internet.

"Before hand, I went out and told the men guarding my door that I didn't want to argue with them but I had to tell them that what they were doing was illegal, that it violated my right to believe, to practice my faith," Lu said. "Then we had a short service reading the sermon together and selections from the Bible."
Lu said all of the church's pastors and leaders were under house arrest and 30 Shouwang members were detained when they arrived at the designated meeting place. Lu and others were planning to go to the police station to try to negotiate their release, he said.

While China's Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, Christians are required to worship in churches run by state-controlled organizations — the Three-Self Patriotic Movement for Protestants and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association for Catholics.

However, more than 60 million Christians are believed to worship in unregistered "house" churches, compared to about 20 million in the state churches, according to scholars and church activists. The growth of house churches has accelerated in recent years, producing larger congregations that are far more conspicuous than the small groups of friends and neighbors that used to worship in private homes that gave the movement its name.

Their expansion and growing influence have unsettled China's rulers, always suspicious of any independent social group that could challenge Communist authority.
Shouwang members have for years been at odds with Beijing officials over their right to worship. They said in a statement last week that they tried to register with the government in 2006 but were rejected.
In December 2009, the church bought property in northwest Beijing for regular Sunday services but government interference prevented the group from occupying the space, the statement said.

21/04/2011 - Bombs found near Indonesia church; 19 arrested

Bombs found near Indonesia church; 19 arrested


By Ali Kotarumalos Associated Press / April 21, 2011



JAKARTA, Indonesia—Terror suspects arrested Thursday led police to five massive bombs buried beneath a gas pipeline near a church just outside Indonesia's capital, officials said.


Djoko Suyanto, a security minister, said he believed Islamic militants had been plotting an attack ahead of Easter celebrations. The U.S. embassy urged Americans to be vigilant.


The explosives, safely defused at the scene, had been set to detonate by cell phone at around 9 a.m. Friday.


"The army and police are under high alert," Suyanto told reporters, adding that troops would be deployed at churches and other strategic locations. "We want to guarantee safety."


Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been battling extremists since 2002 when al-Qaida-linked militants attacked two nightclubs on Bali island, killing 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.


Several attacks since then targeted glitzy hotels, restaurants and an embassy, killing another 60. Hundreds of suspects have been arrested, convicted and thrown in jail.


In recent months, small bands of militants hoping to turn the secular nation of 237 million into an Islamic state have shifted their focus to local "enemies."


They've gone after police, members of a minority Islamic sect deemed "deviant," Christians and moderate Muslim leaders.


National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said the 19 suspects were arrested Thursday, including six accused in a series of mail bombs sent last month to liberal Muslim activists and a former anti-terror chief.


Several people were wounded in the parcel bombings, none seriously.


The arrested men eventually led police to the gas pipeline 100 meters (yards) from a Catholic church large enough to hold 3,000 people in Serpong, Pradopo said.


They discovered five bombs that together weighed 150 kilograms (330 pounds) and were rigged to be detonated by cell phone, according to Nardi Atmaja, a church official at the scene.


Earlier police had said there was just one bomb. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.


Local media quoted investigators as saying each explosion would have had a reach of up to 250 meters (yards), presumably engulfing the church in flames during Good Friday celebrations.


The U.S. embassy in Jakarta issued a statement urging Americans to be especially cautious over the weekend and to stay clear of demonstrations.


"Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence," it said.


Ninety percent of Indonesians are Muslim, though most practice a moderate form of the faith and abhor violence. A small, extremist fringe has become more vocal, and violent, in recent years.

19/04/2011 - UZBEKISTAN: Raids and confiscations as state wants "religious organisations which will stay quiet" ?

UZBEKISTAN: Raids and confiscations as state wants "religious organisations which will stay quiet" ?

By Mushfig Bayram,

Uzbekistan's NSS secret police with other officials have carried out two raids on an officially registered Baptist church in the capital Tashkent, Forum 18 News Service has learned. Over 50,000 Christian books, a large quantity of printing and office equipment, and a sum of money personally belonging to one person were confiscated. In contrast to the confiscated literature and equipment, no official record was made of the confiscation of the money belonging to a church member was made. Later, three church leaders and the caretaker were given fines ranging between 50 and 100 times the minimum monthly salary. Officials have refused to give reasons for their actions, but there has recently been a harshening of official actions against the possession and supply of religious literature. One Tashkent Baptist, asked by Forum 18 what might be behind the raids and confiscations, commented: "The authorities are interested in having small pocket-size churches and religious organisations, which will stay quiet and not have much religious activity."

Uzbekistan's National Security Service (NSS) secret police with other officials have carried out two large raids on an officially registered Baptist church in the capital Tashkent, Forum 18 News Service has learned. Over 50,000 Christian books, printing and office equipment, and a sum of money personally belonging to one person were confiscated, the Church being left with "almost nothing" a Tashkent Baptist told Forum 18 on 19 April. Later, three church leaders and the caretaker were given massive fines. Officials have refused to comment on the case. Raids The fines followed two raids on the Hamza District Church on 7 and 11 April. The first raid was led by Major Khamid Kurbonov of Hamza District Police, and broke into the 12 Kungrad Street Church building at 10 am in the morning. They then searched the Church for 12 hours, ending at 10 pm (22.00 hours). Officials seized 7,110 Uzbek-language booklets entitled 'Jesus, the Son of Abraham and David', as well as 1,120,000 Soms (3,580 Norwegian Kroner, 460 Euros, or 660 US Dollars at the inflated official exchange rate) which is the personal property of a church member. The Confiscation Protocol, which Forum 18 has seen, is signed by Major Kurbonov – but it only lists the literature. The confiscated money is not mentioned, and the booklets are described as having been "kept in the building for fifteen years". NSS secret police and the ordinary police made a second raid on 11 April at 10 am, breaking into a private flat on 87 Ashrafiy Street which belongs to the Church. The officials led by Hamza Police's Senior Lieutenant Nabi Abdurakhmonov carried out a search lasting 14 hours until midnight (24.00 hours). Printing equipment and other material confiscated The Confiscation Protocol, also seen by Forum 18, is signed by Senior Lieutenant Abdurkhmonov and records the confiscation of: - 52,130 books comprising 2,644 individual titles. Forum 18 was told that this is approximately 10 metric tonnes (9.8 tons) of printed literature; - 6 desktop computers, 7 computer processors (CPUs), 6 keyboards, 2 Uninterruptible Power Supply computer batteries, and 4 sets of audio speakers; - 6 black and white printers and 1 laser-colour printer; - 2 photocopy machines; - 2 scanners; - 1 book binding machine; - 1 photo camera; - 1 paper-cutting machine; - 2 videotape recorders; - 1 television set; - 160 video tapes and 334 audio tapes; - and 262 CD and DVD disks. The Protocol does not list the confiscated books, but Forum 18 was told that they included: - 426 Bibles and 638 New Testaments in Russian; - 284 Uzbek-language New Testaments; - 113 Bible Encyclopaedias; - 26 Commentaries on books of the Bible; - 15 Dictionaries of Biblical words and phrases; - and numerous books of fiction, sports and technical manuals, and school textbooks. A member of another registered Baptist Church of the Baptist Union in Tashkent, who for fear of state reprisals wished to remain anonymous, told Forum 18 on 19 April said that the confiscated books were "in fact the library of the Church collected for years." The Baptist asked "Does not a Church and Christians have the right to own Christian books and read them?" The Baptist commented that the officials left the Church with "almost nothing". "Expert analyses" - and then what? The confiscated literature was sent to the state Religious Affairs Committee for "expert analysis". "Church members are afraid that the Committee will decide not to return it to the Church", Forum 18 was told on 19 April. Such alleged "expert analyses" are routinely used as an excuse to confiscate any book the authorities decide to confiscate (see eg. F18News 20 May 2009 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1298). A very strict censorship regime is applied against religious literature and other material of all faiths (see F18News 1 July 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1153). Fines Judge Javdat Ubaydullayev of Hamza District Criminal Court on 14 April fined four Church members under the Code of Administrative Offences' Articles 184-2 ("Illegal storage, production, import, or distribution of religious materials"), and 240 Part 2 ("Attracting believers of one confession to another (proselytism) and other missionary activity"). Galina Shemetova, another Baptist from Tashkent – who was physically assaulted by police as she left hospital - was also in April fined 50 times the monthly minimum salary for allegedly breaking Article 240 Part 2 (see F18News 15 April 2011 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1563). From the Hamza District Baptists: Church Pastor Konstantin Malchikovskiy and Church Secretary Dmitriy Arzhanov were each fined 100 times the minimum monthly salary, 4,973,500 Soms (15,860 Norwegian Kroner, 2,030 Euros, or 2,930 US Dollars); - Choirmaster Boris Zabirko, the Choirmaster of the Church was fined 80 times the minimum monthly salary, 3,978,800 Soms (12,688 Norwegian Kroner, 1,840 Euros, or 2,344 US Dollars); - and Caretaker Aleksey Teselkin was fined 50 times the minimum monthly salary, 2,486,750 Soms (7,930 Norwegian Kroner, 1,015 Euros, or 1,465 US Dollars). Judge Ubaydulloyev's Assistant, who would not give his name, told Forum 18 on 19 April that he "cannot say why" the four Baptists were given such heavy fines. Judge Ubaydulloyev "is hearing a case at the moment," he added. "Please, call back in an hour and he will answer you." Called back, the Assistant refused to put Forum 18 through to Judge Ubaydulloyev saying that "he is busy." When asked if he could put Forum 18 through to the Court's Chair or one of the Deputies, he claimed that "everyone is busy" and put the phone down. Why? A Tashkent Baptist, who for fear of state reprisals wished to remain anonymous, was asked by Forum 18 why they thought the authorities had acted in this way. They replied that the Uzbek authorities "are increasingly reducing Christian activity". They commented that "the authorities are interested in having small pocket-size churches and religious organisations, which will stay quiet and not have much religious activity." It is unclear why the authorities have decided to confiscate printing equipment, and no reason for this was given during the raids. However, the authorities have been adopting an increasingly harsh approach to the supply of all religious literature, Justice Ministry officials telling the Bible Society "there is no need to import Bibles" (see F18News 18 February 2011 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1542). Members of the Baptist Union in Tashkent have been accused in the state controlled mass media of turning people into zombies and encouraging people to sell their homes and give the money to the Church. One church member described the programme to Forum 18 as containing "outrageous lies". State-disfavoured Muslims, Protestant Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Methodists and Baha'is have been attacked in other broadcasts (see eg. F18News 22 February 2010 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1411). In 2010 the authorities forced a change in the leadership of Uzbekistan's Baptist Union, by imposing large fines on Baptist leaders and denying them the legal right to hold office (see F18News 22 February 2010 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1411 "I cannot talk to you over the phone" Senior Lieutenant Abdurakhmanov – who led the second raid - on 19 April asked Forum to call back in two hours later, saying that he "cannot talk at the moment". He evaded Forum 18's questions when called back and asked why did he other officials acted as they did. "I cannot talk to you over the phone," he stated. "Please, come to my office tomorrow, and I will tell you." He hung up the phone without answering, when Forum 18 asked whether the authorities are trying to strip the Baptists in Tashkent of all their printed literature and equipment to print literature. Artyk Yusupov, Chair of the state Religious Affairs Committee, was according to other officials on 19 April not in the office to comment. Chief Specialist Begzot Kadyrov's telephones went unanswered that day. (END) For a personal commentary by a Muslim scholar, advocating religious freedom for all as the best antidote to Islamic religious extremism in Uzbekistan, see http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=338. For more background, see Forum 18's Uzbekistan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1170. Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Uzbekistan can be found at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?query=&religion=all&country=33. A compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments can be found at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1351. A printer-friendly map of Uzbekistan is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=uzbeki.

10/04/2011 - Chinese Christians arrested for trying to hold open-air service

Chinese Christians arrested for trying to hold open-air service

Members of Shouwang church bundled into vans in Beijing in latest Communist party suppression of protest and dissent and demonstrations.

Chinese police officers watch the area where Shouwang church worshippers had planned to gather. 

Dozens of Christians who planned to hold an outdoor service in Beijing in protest at being made "homeless" from their place of worship have been arrested, in the latest Communist party crackdown on dissent and demonstrations. Police cordoned off the walkway where a mobile phone text message had said the service would happen. Officers and plainclothes guards took away dozens of people; it was unclear how many were church members, supporters or bystanders.

The Shouwang church, a Protestant group with about 1,000 members, claims official pressure forced it out of a place of worship it had been renting. Bob Fu, of the China Aid Association, a US-based group critical of China's controls on religion, said police had told one church elder the planned service would be an "illegal gathering". Police kept church elders and pastors in their homes to stop them trying to attend the service, and some were held in police stations, Fu said. "Many members of the church are professionals and students, and some are human rights lawyers, which also makes the church a target," he added.

Reuters reporters were kept away from the site of the planned service, followed by police officers and shoved away by plainclothes guards who would not say whom they worked for. "We will live up to our duty to protect stability in Beijing. There's nothing happening here," said one police officer who stopped and checked reporters.

The Chinese government has been alarmed about calls for protests inspired by anti-authoritarian uprisings across the Middle East. The artist Ai Weiwei, a prominent human rights advocate, was held by police this month during a wide security clampdown Fu said: "I think this reflects the overall panic mood of the government leadership over what's happening in the Middle East and north Africa. I don't see any possibility that the government will yield to [the church's] demands, given the climate there. It's reasonable to expect more clashes." Chinese authorities have detained many dozens, if not hundreds, of dissidents, human rights activists and persistent protesters. Many remain in custody.

Ai Weiwei was detained by police a week ago, and the government has since said he is suspected of "economic crimes". His family has rejected that charge as unfounded. On Saturday Beijing dismissed a US state department report claiming its human rights restrictions and abuses were worsening, saying it wanted no interference in what it deemed internal affairs.

 

4/04/2011 - Bangladesh Releasing Jailed Evangelist

Bangladesh Releasing Jailed Evangelist

Posted on: 2011-04-04 10:47:45

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (Worthy News)-- Bangladesh was to release Friday, April 1, a young evangelist who was sentenced to one year imprisonment for "creating chaos" by selling and distributing Christian books and other literature near a major Muslim gathering.

Trial observers said 25-year-old Biplob Marandi, a tribal Christian, was declared innocent by a court in Gazipur district reviewing the case.

It was unclear whether international publicity and pressure had also played a role in the March 29 decision.

In a statement, Marandi's attorney, Lensen Swapon Gomes, said the outcome proves that he didnot create chaos at a religious gathering as prosecutors had charged.

Gomes said it was his impression that Muslim hardliners "harassed him" and handed the young man over to a local court as "they became angry" that he distributed Christian literature.

RELIGIOUS PROVISIONS

The attorney appealed the decision on grounds that his client's religious activities were "protected by the religious freedom provisions of the Bangladesh constitution."

Marandi was sentenced February 28 after being detained in January near a gathering of the massive 'Bishwa Ijtema', or World Muslim Congregation, on the banks of the Turag River near the town of Tongi.

Every year, several million Sufi Muslims take part in Bishwa Ijtema to pray and listen to Islamic theologians from around the world.

Bangladesh compares the annual event with the Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, commentators say.

MIXED FEELINGS

Although his lawyer welcomed the court's decision to free him, Marandi's case has underscored international concerns about reported violence against Christians and other religious minorities in the heavily Islamic, impoverished, Asian nation.

In a recent report, the United States State Department said that "Although the government publicly supported freedom of religion, attacks on religious and ethnic minorities continued to be a problem during the reporting period."

It added that religious minorities "are often at the bottom of the social hierarchy and, therefore, have the least political recourse."

Christians comprise less than one percent of the population of some 160 million people, according to estimates by the United Sates Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries, with its people crammed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal. Many are deeply poor with almost half the population living on less than one dollar a day, analysts say.

04/04/2011 - Iran Christians Face Blasphemy Trial; Death Sentence Possible

Iran Christians Face Blasphemy Trial; Death Sentence Possible

Posted on: 2011-04-04 11:05:39

TEHRAN, IRAN (Worthy News)-- Five detained members of one of Iran's largest house church movements were to face a trial Monday, April 5, on charges of "blasphemy" which carries the death penalty in this strict Islamic nation, a church representative told Worthy News.

Pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi Furutan, Parviz Khalaj, Mohammed Beliad and his wife Nazly Makarian Beliad,of the Church of Iran denomination, are already serving a one-year prison sentence for "crimes against the Islamic Order" at the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz.

Now the other "trial of the servants of the Church of Iran has is been set for April 5. They have been accused of blasphemy against Islam," said a church representative with close knowledge about the situation.

Worthy News did not immediately reveal his identity amid security concerns. The official said he has supporters of the embattled Church of Iran "to intercede and pray for them." The five Christians were initially arrested in June 2010 on charges of apostasy, political meetings, blasphemy and crimes against the Islamic Order. They spent eight months in jail before being briefly released on bail in February.

APPEAL LAUNCHED

Their lawyer has appealed the one-year prison sentence for crimes against the Islamic Order and a decision is pending, trial observers said. It was initially assumed that the other charges against the five men had been dropped.

However church sources say they will now face charges of blasphemy in a lower court, as lower courts are generally more likely to hand down guilty verdicts. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a major advocacy group, expressed concerns about their situation.

"CSW is dismayed by the charges faced by the group," of Christians, said CSWs National Director Stuart Windsor."The international community must press Iran not only to rescind the unjust punishments to which these Christians have already been subjected, but also to acquit them at the upcoming trial," he told Worthy News.

Rights activists say the case has underscored that the situation for Christians is worsening in Iran. Churches find it difficult to hold meetings, and many Christians are attempting to flee the country, according to CSW investigators.

MORE CONCERNS

Christians in Iran are also increasingly concerned for Yousef Nadarkhani, the pastor of a large congregation in the city of Rasht, who was arrested in late 2009. He remains in prison after having been sentenced to death for the crime of apostasy, "despite there being no articles in the Iranian legal code that refer to such a crime,"CSW said

Instead, the presiding judge in the Nadarkhani case reportedly based his ruling on texts by Iranian religious scholars. An appeal to the Supreme Court was filed in December, and a hearing is due within two months.

"We are concerned that the judgment handed down in Pastor Nadarkhanis case did not follow due procedureunder Iranian law. As a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran has an obligation to uphold international standards of religious freedom for all its citizens, to follow due process and refrain from arbitrary judicial rulings based on open-ended legislation," Windsor said.

The reported crackdown on devoted Christians has been linked to concern within Iran's government about the spread of Christianity among Muslims.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his officials have denied wrongdoing and the government has defended harsh sentences, including executions of political opponents and Christians as part of defending the Islamic state.