Tag: House churches

Prominent China church demolished – second in month

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Explosives are set off in the Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, Shanxi province, in a still taken from a video.
Chinese authorities demolished a church in northern China this week, the second in less than a month, ahead of new regulations on religion due to come into force on 1 February. Explosives were set off inside the Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, Shanxi province on Tuesday (9 January). According to . . . Read More

Ethiopian Christians arrested for ‘praying against government’

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Christians worship during a church service in a town in central Ethiopia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2016)
Seven Ethiopian Christians have been arrested and detained in the north-western town of Chagni on suspicion of praying against the government. A local source told World Watch Monitor the seven men, members of the Meserete Kiristos church, were followed and overheard by a local militia group when they went up a . . . Read More

Iranian Christian women describe ‘world’s most brutal prison’

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Iranian Christian women describe ‘world’s most brutal prison’
Two Iranian Christian women who once faced the threat of execution for their faith have described the conditions inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, calling it “the most brutal prison in the world”. Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh, who spent eight months there in 2009/10, now live in the US, where . . . Read More

Iran: Christian convert loses appeal against 10-year sentence for ‘missionary activities’

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Iran: Christian convert loses appeal against 10-year sentence for ‘missionary activities’
An Iranian convert to Christianity has had his 10-year prison sentence upheld after losing his appeal. Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh was sentenced in May alongside three Azerbaijanis. All four men were given 10-year sentences for “missionary activities” and “actions against national security” in Iran. However, the three Azerbaijanis – Eldar Gurbanov, . . . Read More

Iranian Christian convert released on bail days after threat of ‘indefinite’ incarceration

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Iranian Christian convert released on bail days after threat of ‘indefinite’ incarceration
An Iranian convert to Christianity arrested on unspecified charges has been released on bail just days after his family was told he would be detained indefinitely. Mohammed Ali Torabi, 39, was ordered to pay 200 million tomans (around US $57,000) to secure his release from prison in Ahvaz, capital of Iran’s . . . Read More

Iran: appeal due for Christians given 10 years for ‘missionary activities’

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Iran: appeal due for Christians given 10 years for ‘missionary activities’
The appeal hearings will take place on Sunday (12 November) for an Iranian and three Azerbaijani Christians sentenced in May to 10 years in prison for “missionary activities” and “actions against national security” in Iran. The three Azerbaijanis – Eldar Gurbanov, Yusif Farhadov and Bahram Nasibov – were allowed to . . . Read More

Azerbaijan: ‘no fair trial’ for house-church leader appealing against fine

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Hamid Shabanov in 2007. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
An Azerbaijani man fined for leading a “house church” without state permission has not been treated fairly during his appeal against the fine, a local source has told World Watch Monitor. The source, who wishes to remain anonymous, said there have been “multiple violations of law and process” against Hamid . . . Read More

‘Uncontrolled’ growth of Christianity in China ‘makes government nervous’

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Group of Christians are praying together in Beijing. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
China’s Communist Party is threatened by the “uncontrolled growth of Christianity” in the country –estimated by some to reach 247 million by 2030, “making it the world’s largest congregation” – and China’s thriving underground churches can therefore expect a backlash, writes Eugene K. Chow for The Diplomat. Chow describes how . . . Read More

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