Articles by Jack Bethel
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Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office has ruled that foreign organizations, including Christian ministries, threaten the security of the country, according to rights group Forum 18. -
Belarus seeks to prosecute two Christian religious freedom defenders
Authorities in Belarus have refused to answer questions by rights group Forum 18 about two Christian religious freedom advocates sought for extradition to face unspecified criminal charges. -
Producer of film on Ukraine war targeted by Russian cyber attack
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) warned a film producer featured on a Russian “hit list” for exposing atrocities against Ukrainian evangelicals that hackers affiliated with Russian intelligence targeted him in a cyber attack. -
Russian drone attack sets historic cathedral ablaze in Ukraine
Religious and political leaders condemned a Russian attack that set ablaze the main cathedral building at the historic Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery in Ukraine on Monday (June 15). -
Secret police deport, ban tortured Kyrgyzstan pastor
Secret police in Kyrgyzstan have deported and banned a jailed pastor who suffered a traumatic brain injury from torture, according to rights group Forum 18. -
Kazakhstan priest who opposed Russian invasion remains in isolation
An independent Orthodox priest in Kazakhstan who publicly opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains in solitary pre-trial detention on drug charges his supporters call “fabricated.” -
Russia damages church building in Ukraine with second bombing
A Russian bomb on April 25 damaged a church building in eastern Ukraine for the second time, the same location where the pastor’s two sons were kidnapped during a service, tortured and killed in 2014. -
Baptist pastor faces expulsion from Russian-occupied Ukraine
The Rev. Vladimir Rytikov faces expulsion from his birthplace in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine after authorities accused him of “illegal missionary activity” and cancelled his residence permit, a rights watchdog reports. -
Priest in Russia beaten, convicted of ‘disrespecting society'
A court in Russia on Thursday (Dec. 18) found a Russian priest guilty of “showing an overt disrespect for society” and imposed a 30,000 Ruble ($379) fine after authorities last month beat him, shaved his hair and beard and shocked him with a stun gun. -
Bans on Baptist churches surge in Russia
Russian courts intensified civil bans on Baptist churches for meeting without state permission in the past year, according to rights group Forum 18. -
Tortured Kyrgyzstan pastor suffers traumatic brain injury
Amid allegations by U.N. special Rapporteurs of prison personnel torturing a church leader in Kyrgyzstan, the pastor has traumatic brain injuries that have left him cognitively impaired, according to rights group Forum 18.zstan -
Russian court imprisons pastor for statement on Ukraine war
A Russian court last week jailed a church pastor for four years after he spoke out against the invasion of Ukraine in a sermon.
