Tag: Human rights

Iranian Christians safe if ‘practise faith discreetly’ – European Court of Human Rights

January 8, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Aideen Strandsson, Asylum seekers, Europe, Germany, Human rights, Iran, Religious freedom, Sweden, Switzerland

Activists in the Swiss capital of Bern raise awareness of religious persecution of Christians around the world (2014). (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The European Court of Human Rights ruled last month that an Iranian who sought asylum in Switzerland based on religious grounds could be deported to his home country because his life was not in danger, despite various reports detailing how Iran persecutes religious minorities and converts to Christianity. Human Rights . . . Read More

Vietnam: Church told to take down Christmas nativity scene

December 19, 2017 Vietnam Catholics, Ho Chi Minh City, Human rights, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Religion Law, Religious freedom, Vietnam

St Joseph's Cathedral in Vietnam's capital Hanoi also faced challenges over ownership of the land next to the church which led to protests in 2008. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

One of the highlights at this time of year for the citizens of Communist Vietnam is to go to see often highly elaborate temporary ‘constructions’ showing the Nativity scene of Christ’s birth which local Christians build onto their churches or homes. There are, for instance, whole streets of such scenes . . . Read More

‘Crimes against humanity’ in North Korea’s prison camps

December 15, 2017 North Korea China, Human rights, International Criminal Court, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, UN

An icy Tumen river forms the border between China and North Korea, 2009. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

North Korea’s president, Kim Jong-un, and top officials should be held accountable for committing “crimes against humanity” in prison camps in the country, three international jurists said earlier this week. They called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to establish a special tribunal to prosecute the country’s leaders. The jurists’ . . . Read More

India carol singers arrested for ‘trying to convert people to Christianity’

December 15, 2017 India Alphons Kannanthanam, Anti-conversion law, Beef, BJP, Catholics, Hindu nationalism, Human rights, India, Madhya Pradesh, Minorities, Narendra Modi

Six carol singers have been arrested in India after they were accused of trying to convert people to Christianity. The carol singers, one of whom is a professor at a Catholic theological college, insisted they were only singing songs, but a Hindu man alleged he had been told to “worship . . . Read More

Indonesia church leader charged with blasphemy

December 14, 2017 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Education, Human rights, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Java, Joko Widodo, Muhammadiyah, Religious freedom, Southeast Asia, Tangerang, Youth

Inside a church in Indonesia. Villagers in Central Java requested the top of a burial cross to be cut before a Catholic was to be buried in what is a public cemetery but is regarded by Muslim groups as 'their' graveyard. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An Indonesian church leader has been charged with blasphemy – the first case of its kind in the country – and could face five years in prison. Rev. Abraham Ben Moses, 52, was arrested and detained last week in his home town of Tangerang, Java, 25 km west of the capital, . . . Read More

‘80% of religious discrimination targets Christians’

December 7, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Bishop Angaelos, Copts, Human rights, Middle East, Patriarch Bartholomew I, Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis, Religious freedom

Father Poulos looking up to the ceiling in this house that still has a lot of destruction and needs thorough repairs

Christians are the victims in 80 per cent of acts of religious discrimination, despite only accounting for 30 per cent of the global population, a conference in Washington heard on Tuesday (5 December). The statistics, from the International Society for Human Rights, were presented at the 3rd International Conference on Religious . . . Read More

Freedom of thought ‘regressing on a global scale’

December 6, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Apostasy, Asia Bibi, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Comoros, Education, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Qatar, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, The Gambia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

There are many Pakistani Christian women like Aasiya Noreen who live in fear of the Blasphemy law in their country and the (potential of) abuse. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The 2017 Freedom of Thought Report, presented yesterday (5 December), should be alarming “to all who care about freedom of thought and expression”, as it shows “a pattern of regression on a global scale”, says its editor, Bob Churchill. The report, published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) . . . Read More

Vietnam: Catholic blogger loses appeal against 10-year sentence for ‘anti-state reports’

December 4, 2017 Vietnam Catholics, Human rights, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Southeast Asia, Vietnam

A Vietnamese Catholic blogger has failed in her attempt to overturn a 10-year prison sentence for writing “anti-state reports”. Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, 38, better known as ‘Me Nam’ (Mother Mushroom), is a member of the US-based activist group Viet Tan, which funded one of her environmental campaigns. Her blogging . . . Read More

Kazakhstan’s new restrictions to ‘flagrantly’ violate religious rights

December 1, 2017 Kazakhstan Azerbaijan, Censorship, Central Asia, Children, Education, Human rights, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Religion Law, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

At the facility of one of the presbyterian Churches in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is set to pass a new set of restrictions on freedom of religion or belief that violate international human rights obligations, according to regional news service Forum 18. The proposed amendments to Kazakhstan’s religion law are currently with the Prime Minister and are expected to be signed into law . . . Read More

India archbishop served notice for raising human rights ahead of Gujarat elections

December 1, 2017 India Alphons Kannanthanam, BJP, Catholics, Elections, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, Hindu nationalism, Human rights, India, Narendra Modi

Christian groups and networks in India have rallied behind Archbishop Thomas Macwan of Gandhinagar, capital of Gujarat state in western India, after the federal Election Commission served a notice on the prelate for his pastoral letter ahead of state elections this month. Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister . . . Read More

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