No solution for Vietnam’s persecuted Montagnard-people

The Montagnard-people are persecuted because of their faith but getting asylum in neighbouring countries is difficult. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The number of Montagnard-people fleeing their native Vietnam, because of persecution of their Christian faith, is growing, reports Al Jazeera. They initially end up in surrounding nations like Cambodia and Thailand, where they face a stateless future as their refugee status is not recognized. Thailand and Cambodia are not signatories . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians in Thailand face renewed pressure to return home

Pakistani Christians in Thailand face renewed pressure to return home
World Watch Monitor has heard from reliable sources that the Thai government is planning to cancel bail for all male asylum seekers in Bangkok. The move would require them to return to detention centres straight away. This would include many of the estimated 11,500 Pakistani Christians who complained in 2016 . . . Read More

Iranian and Afghan Christian converts face deportation from Germany after ‘clueless’ questioning

Iranian and Afghan Christian converts face deportation from Germany after ‘clueless’ questioning
An Iranian convert to Christianity attends a course in Berlin preparing him for baptism. Germany’s Ministry for Immigration and Refugees (BAMF) is rejecting many applications for asylum from Iranian and Afghan converts from Islam to Christianity, following “kangaroo court”-style hearings, according to a Berlin pastor. Rev. Gottfried Martens, who has . . . Read More

Uzbek pastor and family granted asylum in US after 9-year ordeal

Uzbek pastor and family granted asylum in US after 9-year ordeal
Finally, their journey is over. Three years since fleeing Uzbekistan – following four years in a labour camp, house arrest and death threats – Pastor Dmitry Shestakov has arrived in the United States, where he and his family have been granted asylum. It’s been almost 10 years since Shestakov was . . . Read More

Calls for Christian asylum centres in Sweden

Increasing reports about Christians harassed by hardline Muslim fellow migrants are prompting calls for non-Muslim asylum centres to be set up in Sweden. According to the Swedish Evangelical Alliance, one Christian refugee in Kalmar in the southeast of the country was threatened with having his throat slit by a man . . . Read More

Push to include Christians in IS ‘genocide’ charge

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on its government to include Christians in the definition of those at risk of genocide from Islamic State’s campaign in Syria and Iraq. A calls for a broader inclusion of Christians, Shi’a, Turkmen and Shabak communities as well as Yazidis, . . . Read More