Latest Updates

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  Christians tortured, forced to recite Islamic creed in Pakistan

  An Islamist cleric presided over the forced conversion of two Christians in Sialkot District, Pakistan after they were tortured into reciting the Islamic conversion creed, sources said.

  4 min read

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  Analysis: A year of bumpy ups and downs for religious liberty in Vietnam

  Vietnam improved from 24th to 35th place in Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL) of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, but the U.S. government was not so generous regarding its religious freedom record, placing the country on its Special Watch List on Jan. 4 for the second year in a row.

  9 min read

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  Nepali pastor to be jailed for praying after Supreme Court denies appeal

  Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya faces a one-year prison sentence for his religious activities, marking a significant setback for religious freedom in Nepal, after the country’s Supreme Court upheld a previous judgment against the pastor, who now awaits the court’s response to his appeal for converting the sentence into a fine.

  3 min read

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  Hope for justice dims in Christians’ cases in Jaranwala, Pakistan

  Police intimidation and lax investigations into Islamist rioting that destroyed scores of Christian homes and businesses in Jaranwala, Pakistan in August has dampened hopes of justice for the victims, sources said.

  10 min read

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  Pakistani Christians laud lifting of compulsion on studying Islam in schools

  Christians in Pakistan have breathed a sigh of relief over the government’s decision to make Islamic studies not compulsory for non-Muslim students in schools at all levels.

  3 min read

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  Chinese pastor sentenced to 14 years for peddling ‘superstition’

  A court in China sentenced a prominent Protestant pastor to 14 years in prison. The pastor’s wife and four church members have also been sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 10 years. They were all found guilty of purportedly “using superstition to undermine the law.”

  3 min read

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  Pakistan’s Peter Jacob among eight winners of Int’l Religious Freedom Award

  Pakistan’s leading human rights and religious freedom advocate, Peter Jacob, is among eight individuals from different countries who were awarded with the US Secretary of State’s International Religious Freedom Award in recognition of their courage and commitment to promoting and defending religious freedom globally.

  3 min read