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Subject: PERSECUTION REPORT FOR OCTOBER 28, 2003.

Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 16:03:45 -0800

From: "Bruce Atchison" <ve6xtc@telusplanet.net>

To: "Ted" <thilts@help-for-you.com>

PERSECUTION REPORT FOR OCTOBER 28, 2003.

The Voice Of The Martyrs presents these incidents of Christians suffering for Christ.

China:

Church leaders face possible death sentence as wife is released

Two church leaders arrested by the Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) are facing charges of "conspiracy to subvert the national government and socialist system." If convicted, Xiao Bi-guang and Zhang Yi-nan face a minimum sentence of five years in prison and could be sentenced to death.

Xiao and Zhang were arrested on September 26 (For more details on the arrest, see http://www.persecution.net/pnparchive/arch4.htm). Zhang's wife, Ding Guizhen, was also arrested on September 28 but was released on October 11. As she was being ushered from the prison, she was served with the official notification of her husband's arrest, including the charges they face.

On October 21, Xiao's wife, Gou Qinghui, finally received official notification of the charges against her husband. According to Chinese law, family members must be notified within twenty-four hours of an arrest. It is believed that this notification came only as a result of international pressure on the authorities. The official excuse given for the delay was that the authorities claim that Xiao gave them the given the wrong address during his interrogation. Until Gou received official notification, she was unable to hire a lawyer to defend her husband. She has now done so and the attorneys plan to visit the Detention Centre of Lushan County in Henan Province, where Xiao is being held, later this week. According to the official document that she finally received, Xiao is being charged with "subverting the national government."

We thank God for the release of Ding Guizhen and the official notification of the charges.

China:

Another Christian arrested

On October 16, The Voice of the Martyrs learned of the arrest of a Beijing house-church member, Liu Feng Guang, by Public Security Bureau (PSB) authorities in Zhejiang Province, China. The exact time and place of his arrest are unknown, but he had been travelling to meet with underground church leaders, including some recently released from custody.

On October 15, Zhejiang PSB officers, along with Beijing police, raided Liu's home, confiscating two computers, his address book, cameras, documents and other items. PSB officers are using the address book, along with numbers stored on Liu's cellular phone, to contact those listed. PSB officers told his wife, Bi Yu-xia, that her husband was facing charges of "leaking national secrets" to those outside of China. They informed her that he is held in "soft detention" rather than criminal detention. However, she was not given the official documents needed to hire an attorney.

The Voice of the Martyrs has learned the phone and fax numbers for the Xiao-Shan PSB office, which is believed to have ordered the arrest of Brother Liu. We particularly encourage Chinese-speaking believers to contact them to politely express your concern for Liu.

The phone number, from North America, is 011-86-571-82622514.

The fax number is 011-86-571-82377550. We also encourage you to contact the Chinese embassy in your country.

Contact information for Canada, USA, and the UN is available on our web site at :

http://www.persecution.net/links.htm.

Sri Lanka:

Churches face ongoing pressure

On October 21, the Voice of the Martyrs received an update from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, outlining some of the recent opposition facing evangelical churches in Sri Lanka.

In the first week of October, a crowd of around seventy people, led by the Balapitiya Bauddha Balamandalaya members and Buddhist monks, threatened the Balapitiya branch of the Ambalangoda Assemblies of God (A.O.G.) Church, demanding that the church close within a month. When the police were informed, the officer in charge refused to record the complaint, saying he would consult is superiors and take necessary action.

In another incident, the A.O.G. Church in Embilipitiya's worship service on October 12, was disrupted by a mob led by seven Buddhist monks. They demanded that the services stop and that the believers leave the area. One of the monks brought out a bottle of poison, challenging the pastor to drink it as proof that his God was real, citing the words of Jesus. The pastor responded that the Scriptures instruct Christians not to test God. The mob left after threatening the believers.

The Athurugiriya branch of the New Covenant Life Centre has been facing repeated threats. As a result, they were not meeting in the reception hall they normally used on Sunday, October 19. The church held a very low-key worship service to avoid any altercation. This did not prevent a group of about fifty men, led by a Buddhist monk, from stopping the service and demanding that everyone leave the building and no longer meet in this village. Pastor Dushantha De Silva and the congregation left as requested and filed a complaint with the police. The officer in charge has called for an inquiry to be held on October 25 and informed all parties to be present.

Two different A.O.G. churches have also faced threats and attacks from members of Roman Catholic churches. On October 5 and 12, the AOG Church in Vankalai was threatened by members of the Vankalai Roman Catholic Church. Members of the AOG Church were beaten and their lives threatened. The pastor and members were ordered to leave Vankalai or face death. On October 19, a group of around one thousand people marched on the AOG church in Batuwatte, led by the Catholic priest and four monks. They demanded that the services be discontinued, saying that Christians should worship in the Catholic Church and Buddhists in the Buddhist temple. The pastor was accused of unethical conversions and bribery.

Australia:

Christians face court over seminar on Islam

A court case is underway in Australia, which could result in fines for two Christian leaders because of a seminar on Islam held in March 2002. The seminar was intended for Christians, to educate them on the teachings of Islam in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The seminar was sponsored by Catch the Fire Ministries (CTFM) and featured an expert on Islam, Daniel Scot, who had fled Pakistan for Australia in the 1980's to escape religious persecution.

While intended for Christians, three Muslims came to the seminar; two of them recent converts to Islam. According to the accusations from the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), the three were offended by what was said, claiming that, "apart from seriously misrepresenting Islamic teaching, certain statements made on behalf of the group incited fear, hatred and ridicule of, and contempt for, Australian Muslims." Some observers, however, see this as a legal challenge to Christians' freedom to question other religions.

When mediation by the government's Equal Opportunity Commission failed, the ICV took Daniel Scot and the president of CTFM, Danny Nalliah, to a tribunal set up under Victoria State's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act. If it is found that the seminar incited hatred against Muslims, they could face fines of up to $6000 ($5500 CDN) or sentenced to six months imprisonment. Under the Act, an organization can be fined up to $30,000 ($27,500 CDN). In response to the allegations, Scot and Nalliah claim that what they said in the seminar was solely based on the Quran and that they clearly separated criticism of the teachings of Islam from Muslims themselves. As the lawyer for CTFM said, "the act dealt with inciting hatred, contempt and revulsion, whereas Catch the Fire exhorted Christians to love Muslims and pray for them."

CTFM's lawyer had attempted to have the case dismissed on constitutional grounds. However, according to an October 22 report in The Age On line, the tribunal judge, Michael Higgins, ruled yesterday that the case will continue and accepted the Islamic Council's barrister's request to expand the complaint to include not only what was taught at the seminar, but also "the seminar in its totality, including its style, audience reaction and atmosphere." As a result of this change, the lawyer for CTFM is seeking a two-week adjournment to prepare.

Please see http://www.persecution.net for ways to assist persecuted Christians.

Forum 18 provides this persecution report.

Nagorno-Karabakh:

Police beat up, threaten Baptist and family.

A Baptist in Nagorno-Karabakh has been beaten up, threatened with mind-altering drugs and had threats against his wife, for distributing religious literature on the street. At the same time his local church had all its religious literature confiscated. Police claim this is legal under martial law, which amongst other restrictions on civil liberties bans the activity of "religious sects and unregistered organisations". However a senior Nagorno-Karabakh representative has claimed to Forum 18 that martial law restrictions have ended and that "There are no restrictions on the activity of any religious communities".

Other Protestants, Pentecostals, Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses have also all faced restrictions on their activity which still continue. At the same time the Armenian Apostolic Church has become the de facto state religion.

Please check http://www.forum18.org for full versions of stories concerning religious rights violations in communist and post-communist lands.

ASSIST News Service has these incidents to report.

Egypt:

22 Christians in egypt "beaten and tortured"

Some 22 Christians, including many secret converts from Islam to Christianity, have been arrested by Egyptian police and are "being beaten, interrogated and tortured," a major Christian rights group said Friday, October 24.

The well informed Barnabas Fund, which supports persecuted believers, said the abuses began when Christians were taken from Alexandria to police stations in the capital Cairo as part of a fresh "dramatic" anti-Christian crackdown that began Tuesday, October 21.

Among the first to be arrested were two converts from Islam, Yusuf Samuel Makari Suliman, whose former Muslim name was Muhammad Ahmad Imam al-Kurdi and his wife Mariam Girgis Makar formerly Saher As-Sayid Abd al-Rani, the organization said.

"The following day some seven others were also arrested and taken to the office of the Attorney General."

Dramatic sweeps

Thursday October 23 that number rose to 22 as other "converts and Christians who have tried to assist them were rounded up and arrested in dramatic sweeps by police," the Barnabus Fund added in a statement send to ASSIST News Service (ANS).

"Local Christians fear the arrests will continue and many other converts from Islam, who have been living quietly as Christians may now be arrested in the next few days," said the Barnabus Fund, which runs a major international campaign on behalf of converts.

The Egyptian authorities have not yet reacted to the charges, however there has been among hardliners about what they regard as Western (Christian) influences in the mainly Islamic country, where Christians make up about 6 percent of the population.

Falsifying ID papers

Officially the 22 arrested Christians being charged "with falsifying ID papers," apparently because they changed their Muslim names into Christian names, the Barnabus Fund reported.

"Whilst Egypt has no law against apostasy from Islam, in practice converts are actively punished by the police in this 90% Muslim country. (They) often face imprisonment, beatings and torture on various pretexts in order to try to force them to return to Islam."

A Christian who converts to Islam in Egypt can receive ID papers with a new adopted Muslim name within 24 hours, but "it is impossible for a Muslim who converts to Christianity to change their name to a Christian one at all," said the Barnabus Fund.

"Thus they will always be regarded as Muslims in the eyes of the law."

Torture and interrogation

The initial arrest of the first Christians, Yusuf and Mariam, came about as a result of information obtained by police through the torture and interrogation of a Christian who revealed that the married couple were converts from Islam, the organization said.

They allegedly were involved in leading other Muslims to convert to Christianity. "An investigation was opened by police in the Al-Muski quarter of Cairo and the couple was eventually arrested in Alexandria, "beaten, abused, tortured and taken by police to a station in Al Muski," in the capital.

Cairo Christians have reportedly brought food for the couple but the police has so far reportedly refused to allow this to be given to them. Local Christians have managed to obtain the services of a team of Christian and Muslim lawyers to defend the accused.

Husband released

"They have managed to secure the release of Yusuf who will be fined" and was expected leave the police station later Friday, October 24, while a court case against him is still be outstanding. His wife Mariam will be held in prison for a month whilst the investigation is being conducted against the couple.

She was due to be transferred to a prison later Friday, October 24. The other 20 Christians who have been arrested were held at a police station in el Galaa, Cairo, "but could be moved from there at any time," to a yet unknown location, the Barnabus Fund said.

The latest reported crackdown comes only months after Naglaa, a female Egyptian convert from Islam and her Christian husband Malak were arrested on similar charges of falsifying ID papers. They have been held in prison since 26 February 2003.

Police have reportedly tried to force Naglaa to give up her Christian faith and return to Islam, to leave her husband, and to raise her children as Muslims

Killings in prison

Human rights workers say that many converts have faced imprisonment, beatings and torture. Some are said to have died in prison, while others have fled Egypt, Africa's second largest country with over 66 million people.

"Converts have sometimes been arrested under the country's emergency legislation which allows for the holding of suspects without charge or trial for indefinite periods, " the Barnabus Fund said.

The Fund has urged Muslim religious leaders to condemn the harsh treatment of converts "and to make public statements calling for a reform of shari'a teaching on apostasy."

That would "clearly affirm that Muslims who choose to convert to another faith are free to follow their personal convictions without fear of punishment or harassment."

Further details of the campaign can be obtained by contacting Barnabas Fund or visiting the Apostasy Campaign pages on our web site http://www.barnabasfund.org/Apostasy.htm

Please go to http://www.assistnews.net to read more about missions work.

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