North Korea

Recommendations

Info

News 2 3 6 5 1 4 Bishoy was issued a five-year prison sentence for supposedly presenting a “false image” of religious persecution in Egypt. Pakistan’s Supreme Court Sets Appeal Date for Asia Bibi 1 | PAKISTAN On August 22, ICC learned that Asia Bibi, a Christian mother sentenced to death for allegedly committing blasphemy, would have her final appeal heard by Pakistan’s Supreme Court in mid-October. This appeal serves as Bibi’s last legal option in Pakistan through which she can escape execution. Apart from the final appeals hearing, Bibi could only be pardoned of the death penalty through a Presidential Pardon, a power granted to the president of Pakistan by their constitution. Bibi has been on death row since 2010 despite international outcry, with countless roadblocks and delays impeding her release. Her appeal with the High Court was rescheduled seven times before it was finally held in October of 2014. During that hearing, one of the two judges hearing the case confirmed her death sentence. The initial accusation against Bibi occurred in the summer of 2009 after she drank from the same water dish as her Muslim coworkers. Due to the fact that these women viewed Bibi as unclean because of her Christian faith, an argument broke out among the women. Later, the Muslim coworkers went to a local cleric and accused Bibi of blaspheming against Islam by saying, “My Christ died for me, what did Muhammad do for you?” Riots Follow Attack on Christian Student Beaten for Alleged Blasphemy 2 | NIGERIA On August 21, an argument broke out between a Christian and Muslim student on campus at Nigeria’s Abdu Gusau Polytecnic, following accusations that the Christian student insulted Muhammad. The dispute quickly escalated toward violence and a mob gathered, claiming that the student deserved to die for his alleged blasphemy against Islam. The next day, radical Muslim students continued their riots by destroying Christian establishments on campus. A local church leader reported that the riots spilled into the local town, leading to violence, vandalism, and arson. The influence of Sharia law has permeated northern Nigeria, leading to increasing violence and discrimination against Christians in Nigeria. Egyptian Christian Declares Return to Islam After Two Years in Prison 3 | EGYPT In 2007, the story of Mohamed Hegazy grabbed international attention as he was the first Egyptian to sue the government in order to officially switch from Islam to Christianity on his ID card following his conversion. As a result, many local Muslims began speaking out against Hegazy, who is also known by the Christian name of “Bishoy.” Some even called for his execution on the terms of apostasy. In June of 2014, Bishoy was issued a five-year prison sentence for supposedly presenting a “false image” of religious persecution in Egypt. Following his release in July of this year, more than two years after his sentence was issued, Bishoy appeared in an online video declaring his return to Islam. In the video announcing his conversion, Bishoy noted that he would not discuss the reasons for his return to Islam. Although he stated that the decision to convert back to Islam was made out of free will, many human rights advocates believe that the statement was coerced in exchange for his freedom. He has also stated that he will not speak publicly regarding this decision, making it difficult to reach the ultimate truth. 6 PERSECU ION.org NOVEMBER 2016 INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
A church in the town of Oral, Kazakhstan, at dawn. Creative commons photo by Flickr user Darin House. Christian Leader in China Handed Seven-Year Jail Sentence 4 | CHINA In yet another example of China’s continued crackdown on Christianity, church leader Hu Shigen has been given a seven-year prison sentence. His charges included “damaging national security and harming social stability” as authorities described Hu as the leader of a group which was using religion as a guise for exposing government abuses. This is Hu’s second prison term as he served 20 years for the charge of “counter-revolution,” which has since been abolished, before his release in 2008. VBS Camps Raided by Officials at Two Kazakhstan Churches 5 | KAZAKHSTAN Two Baptist churches in Kazakhstan recently experienced the discrimination that is sweeping Central Asia firsthand. Officials raided the two churches during their Vacation Bible School camps, questioning whether or not the young participants had permission from their parents. The reason for these raids and the accompanying law that requires parental permission is to avoid the possibility of conversion without the consent of their parents. A similar incident took place last year which resulted in a temporary church closure and substantial fines. Sudanese Pastors Face Charges that Could Result in the Death Penalty 6 | SUDAN Two Sudanese pastors, Kuwa Shamal and Hassan Abdulraheem Taour, have officially been charged with crimes that could potentially result in the death penalty. Both of the pastors have been imprisoned since last December, while Shamal was temporarily released and then rearrested in May. Despite the severity of the charges, which include espionage and crimes against the state, there is no adequate evidence to justly carry out a sentence. In a similar case, two pastors named Yat Michael and Peter Reith also faced charges associated with the death penalty, but were released last summer after months of imprisonment. The recent charging of Shamal and Taour is yet another example of Sudan’s crackdown on Christian leaders. As the Gospel continues to spread, the government continues to arrest pastors, subject them to interrogation, and imprison them indefinitely with no contact to the outside world. PERSECU ION.org INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN 7
Page 1 and 2: WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG NOVEMBER 2016 P
Page 3 and 4: President’s Letter It’s very ra
Page 5: ISIS Magazine Calls on Followers to
Page 9 and 10: Medical Assistance to Pastors in In
Page 11 and 12: Your Dollar$ at Work Family in Mali
Page 13 and 14: Cross in the Seal of Lehigh County,
Page 15 and 16: West Watch Two ISIS-Inspired French
Page 17 and 18: The Kim family is the spiritual hea
Page 19 and 20: JUCHE Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung Kim J
Page 21 and 22: Many barriers keep North Koreans tr
Page 23 and 24: media; everything from South Korean
Page 25 and 26: Earlier this year, ICC had the hono
Page 27 and 28: year and resulted in her mother and
Page 29 and 30: North Korea depends on Office 39 to
Page 31 and 32: US reunify the peninsula? These geo
Page 33 and 34: BREAKING THE CHAINS Gospel and Lite
Page 35 and 36: PRACTICAL PROJECTS Defector Care an

North Korea

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?