Free from Prison, Asia Awaits Permission to Accept Asylum

After nearly ten years awaiting execution on a false charge of blasphemy—including eight years in solitary confinement on death row—Asia Bibi’s ordeal is almost over. On October 31, the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted her of all charges. Initiated by Islamic hardliners, the charges finally turned against

them as the judges declared they were based on fabricated evidence which was “nothing short of concoction incarnate” and insulted Islam. Though declared innocent, Asia was forced to remain in protective custody while thousands of radicals led by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) rioted, paralysing major cities, demanding her public execution, the death of her lawyer and three judges, even inciting insurrection against the government of Imran Khan. To restore peace, authorities capitulated to their demand that Asia remain in Pakistan while TLP tried to have her acquittal overturned. On January 29, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of October 31. John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need, expressed the jubilation and relief of thousands: “For all of us who have longed to see her exonerated, yesterday was a day of rejoicing ….” However, government sensitivity to volatile public reaction is delaying reunion with her family. In the aftermath of violence, Imran Khan affirmed his government’s determination to restore order. Reuters reported that Pakistan’s Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhry, told a press conference on December 1st that

3,000 people directly responsible for violence had been charged with terrorism. He also announced that TLP leader, Khadim Hussein Rizvi, had been charged with terrorism and with sedition which carries a life sentence. Two other TLP leaders face the same charges, along with Rizvi’s deputy, Afzal Qadri, who had unwisely called for the overthrow of Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. TLP was presumably offended when he honoured Christian leaders at a function last August, publicly acknowledging the “outstanding” contribution of Christians to military defence, healthcare and education.

As a poor, uneducated, despised Christian and a woman, Asia represented the weakest and most vulnerable of Pakistan’s people. Aligned against her were the most powerful: the political might of Islam; the fury of fanatical clerics, murderous mobs and a hostile judiciary. The injustice she faced, publicised by prayerful Christian organisations and international human rights advocates, galvanised global media attention. Asia’s image flashed around the world with news of the latest developments in the legal saga on whose outcome her life depended.

Asia’s daughters are begging Pakistani authorities to allow her to join them in Canada where they have been given asylum at a secret location. As a bishop told the Canadian Catholic Weekly, “There is a possibility that a militant Islamic group could come after them here”.

Wilson Chowdhry, of the British Pakistani Christian Association, told Faithwire that Asia and her husband, Ashiq Masih, are in the care of Pakistani security forces and that he believes they will be released soon. Associated Press reports a telephone conversation with Asia in which she said the security detail assigned to her refuses to explain why she is still confined. (See Prayer and Action Pages)

LONDON — Police Arrest Nigerian Street Evangelist

Oluwole IIesanmi was arrested as he was preaching the Gospel on Saturday 23 February. A video shows him being handcuffed, humiliated and taken away. He was later “unarrested”. Premier reports that police claimed they made the arrest to prevent “a breach of the peace” and a “potential hate crime” in response to a 999 caller claiming he had made “Islamophobic” comments. Eyewitness accounts and the video prove that this is untrue. As Mr Ilesanmi pleaded with police not to take his Bible, a policeman can be heard saying, “You should have thought about that before being racist.”

The video entitled, “Don’t Take My Bible”, has gone viral. Former Chaplain to the Queen, Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden, is among many expressing support for Mr Ilesanmi who is receiving legal assistance from Christian Concern. The Metropolitan Professional Standards Unit is investigating police action against the Christian preacher which contrasts starkly with tolerance shown to Islamic preachers, filmed openly inciting violence and breaking the law with impunity.

Photo: premier.org.uk

PAKISTAN—The death sentence imposed on brothers, Qaisar and Amoon Ayub, for alleged blasphemy follows the recent acquittal of Asia Bibi which brought fresh hope to Pakistan’s beleaguered Christians. However, Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws still mandate the death sentence for any perceived insult to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, and life imprisonment for any apparent disrespect of the Qur’an. The two brothers were accused of posting material offensive to Islam on their website in 2011. Qaisar testified that he had shut down the website in 2009 but that a Muslim acquaintance, Shahryar Gill, had resurrected the site, keeping the copyright in Qaisar’s name. On December 13, Judge Javed Iqbal Bosal heard their case in the security of their prison. He pronounced them guilty and sentenced them to death. Both men are married. Qaisar is the father of three children. This tragic case which has brought so much grief to the two men, their families, friends and community is another example of the apparent light burden of proof required to secure a conviction of blasphemy in a Pakistani court. As Professor Zimmermann has pointed out, there is no requirement to prove intent — even in cases which threaten life as well as liberty. The Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement will appeal against the sentence in the Lahore High Court. Nasir Saeed, its UK director, said that the violent reactions of Islamic radicals, including threats to judges, prejudice the judicial process. “Because of fundamentalist threats, lower courts pass responsibility to the High Courts. Qaisir and Amoon will have to wait years to get justice.”

Editorial Karen Bos The Imperative of Advocacy

”...for the least of My brethren...” If Asia’s lowly status placed her among ‘the least’ of Pakistan’s people, her unshakable faith placed her among the Lord’s ‘brethren’ - those with whom He identifies Himself (Matt 25:40).

During her long, dangerous, lonely ordeal, Asia was sustained by His Presence and His promise: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7)

Christians around the world will rejoice that sustained prayer and petition in the courts of Heaven and Earth have been answered. As we pray for safety and blessings in abundance for Asia and her family, now hoping to build a new life of freedom in Canada, we continue to uphold Christians and others who remain captive to grossly unjust laws. Aid to the Church in Need reports that 187 Christians currently

remain accused or convicted under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, in need of prayer and advocacy. Others are in danger of extra-judicial execution by volatile mobs, easily enraged by inflammatory sermons and mobilised against defenseless Christian communities.

From the legal saga surrounding Asia’s ordeal, and the Pakistani government’s prosecution of extremists responsible for the ensuing violence, Christians everywhere have drawn encouragement that justice will eventually prevail, even in highly charged blasphemy cases. As Peter Jacob, Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice, has said, “Advocates will be encouraged that they can continue their work…. that the state will handle miscreants like Tehreek Labaik Pakistan.”

What the state needs to handle are not just organizations which threaten its authority, but ideologies which give rise to the unjust laws which the state itself perpetuates. Leaders of even the most powerful Western nations have been reticent to confront dictators and perpetrators of appalling human rights abuses, unwittingly becoming complicit in their continuation. CNN reported that on February 22, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, proclaimed in Beijing that human rights "can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis, and the security crisis." She was not asked to explain how human rights are detrimental to these issues, or how these issues are advanced by diminishing the importance of human rights.

Gatestone reports that in 1997, North Korea’s most senior defector, Hwang Jang Yop, stated that human rights was the ‘Achilles heel and most important issue’ of the Kim regime. As North Korea is being wooed out of diplomatic isolation, has Hwang’s advice had any impact on Western dialogue with this murderous regime which Open Doors believes is currently holding 60,000 Christians in concentration camps?

Effective, sustained advocacy pursues truth, saves lives, alleviates suffering and exposes religious and secular ideologies at the root of injustice. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is based on the intrinsic value which Christianity places on every human life. If its provisions are to be upheld, human rights must be raised in all international fora — loudly, forcefully, fearlessly and often.

Please contribute prayer, petition and finance to enable this work in defense of our persecuted brethren to continue.

Brothers Sentenced to Death

AFP/Getty Images

ETHIOPIA: COMMUNAL VIOLENCE THREATENS PROGRESS

by Elizabeth Kendal, CFF Director of Advocacy

Originating in the Abyssinian regions of the north, Ethiopia expanded over centuries to become a mighty empire. Today it is home to 109 million citizens from 87 ethnic groups. As a long-repressed, ethno-federation, the great and immediate danger facing Ethiopia is ethnic fragmentation and communal conflict. New-found liberties bring risks, as does the threat of backlash from those who have lost power through the reforms of new Prime Minster Dr Abiy Ahmed (41).

Ethiopia now has more than 2.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), 1.4 million of whom were displaced by communal violence in the first six months of 2018 -- the highest level of internal displacement in 2018 anywhere in the world! While most of the violence is inter-ethnic -- with ethnic minorities coming under attack -- there is a real risk that religious violence could become more widespread, especially in areas where ethnic incitement has failed. Critically, it is generally the case that when minorities (ethnic or religious) are attacked, the local police do not intervene.

On 4 February two mosques were torched in Esta woreda (district), South Gondar zone of Amhara region. North of Addis Ababa, South Gondar zone is roughly 96.5 percent Ethiopian Orthodox and 3.5 percent Muslim. Muslims decorating a venue for a wedding had found a Christian image among their shredded papers. Eager to avoid any misunderstanding, they met with Christian leaders and resolved the matter peacefully. It was later that afternoon that the two mosques were burned. The Sheik is convinced that people with political motives incited the unprecedented attack, hoping to trigger sectarian unrest. On 10 February a mosque was torched in Endabet Jara Gedo woreda of Southern Gondar. Local residents joined together to put the fire out before the building was engulfed.

Meanwhile, on 9 February, at least 10 churches were burnt in Alaba Kulito town in Alaba zone of Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. South of Addis Ababa, Alaba zone is 93.9 percent Muslim, 4.6 percent Ethiopian Orthodox and 1.2 percent Protestant. It seems the Muslim youths who led the attack had been fed a false report that a mosque in a nearby village had been burnt. The attack appeared highly organised, leading many to suspect it was incited in the mosque and carefully orchestrated to ensure there would be no deaths and no damage to Muslim property.

While Kale Hiwot Galeto church's building was razed to the ground, most other properties had their furniture and bibles removed and burnt in the street. There were no fatalities, but two church workers required hospitalisation. Alaba Kulito's churches are attended by some 9,000 Christians, most of whom have migrated into the town from the surrounding rural areas in search of work. Tensions are high.

On Saturday 2 March Ethiopians celebrated the 123-year anniversary of the Battle of Adwa. In 1896, at least 73,000 Ethiopians from every tribe and tongue united to defeat a 20,000-strong well-armed Italian army eager to expand Italy's fledgling 19th century colonial empire. With its victory, Ethiopia secured its independence. It was 'the first victory of black people against Western invaders'. Eager to foster a stronger sense of national unity and shared fortunes, PM Abiy has revived the event. Promoted under the motto, 'Adwa, the stamp of our unity', PM Abiy encouraged Ethiopians, especially youths, to join together to defeat current challenges.

In 1974, Protestant Christianity comprised 5 percent of the population. In the 2007 census, it comprised 18.6 percent. Most growth has occurred this century, and many new Protestants are (like PM Abiy Ahmed) converts from Islam. There is also a growing renewal movement within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. This work of the Spirit is gravely imperilled by the current threat. A fierce spiritual battle for Ethiopia is under way. Please pray for God’s protection. Elizabeth spoke on the Christian crisis in the Middle East at the HOT TOPICS forum at the Sydney Missionary Bible College on Wednesday, 20th March.

Remains of Kale Hiwot Galeto church,

Alaba Kulito (photo: Steadfast Global).

A Call for Unity: Ethiopians Celebrate the Anniversary of the Battle of Adwa

by Elizabeth Kendal, CFF Director of Advocacy

Islamic State (IS/ISIS) is making a come-back in Iraq. Military analyst David Kilcullen remarks that with its resurgence, IS is ‘giving new meaning to its motto “Remaining and Expanding”.’ While IS attacks are presently small scale and low intensity — comprising mostly bombings, raids, assassinations and sectarian executions — they are increasing in frequency and sophistication. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), IS maintains some 30,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria, of whom up to 17,000 are in Iraq, including 1,000 who have crossed over from Syria in the past six months. ISW reports that IS is re-establishing zones of support, lines of supply and the means to generate revenue (mostly through drugs and extortion). As long as Baghdad remains enmeshed in political power struggles between parties that are proxies of either Iran or America, IS will exploit the paralysis to re-establish itself across Iraq.

In January the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, ominously warned, ‘We have concerns about the return of IS … to Nineveh [Province, northern Iraq].’ On 20 February the Iraqi Army’s Chief of Staff Othman al-Ghanimi told reporters at a press conference near Mosul that Iraqi security forces had detained 24 IS militants. The group, which had escaped Syria and was headed for Mosul, included four IS leaders. Later that day, Iraqi security and intelligence forces intercepted a car near Badush, 25km north-west of Mosul, killing the five IS fighters inside, each of whom was reportedly wearing an explosive vest. On 28 February IS successfully carried out a car-bomb attack in Mosul, killing one civilian and wounding 13. On the same day, a car-bomb exploded near Mosul University, killing two and wounding 24. On Friday 8 March a car-bomb in Mosul killed two (including a child) and wounded 10. It must be noted that, whilst violence has escalated, not all recent bombings have been claimed by IS.

The return of IS is not the only threat facing Nineveh’s already decimated indigenous and Christian Assyrian remnant. In August 2014, as IS advanced east from Mosul towards oil-rich Kirkuk, the jihadists overran and ethnically cleansed the Nineveh Plain, displacing around 130,000 Assyrian Christians, along with other non-Sunni minorities, including the Shabak. Possibly with Persian roots, the Shabak follow a syncretistic form of Shia Islam. Today, it seems that Baghdad and Tehran are using the Shabak as a proxy as they struggle against the Kurds for control over Nineveh’s ‘Disputed Territories’, which includes the Assyrian heartland. If there is one thing the Kurds, the Shabaks, Baghdad and Tehran all agree on, it is their desire to eliminate the Christian presence and even erase millennia of Assyrian and Christian history.

Ground zero in this existential struggle is the Assyrian town of Bartella, 21km due east of Mosul.

Prior to August 2014, Bartella had been policed by the mostly Christian, Assyrian Ninewa Protection Unit (NPU). Today, security in the area is controlled by Iraq’s mostly-Shia, Popular Mobilisation Force (PMF), also known as ‘Hashd’. In Bartella, the Hashd are mostly Shabak. Of the 3,800 Christian families to have fled Bartella in 2014, less than one third have returned. In Bartella they face not just devastation, but disturbing levels of harassment, intimidation and threat.

Christian leaders are convinced that the Shabak are working to drive them away, prevent their return and replace them with Shabak Shi’ites. To this end they have the backing of Baghdad and Tehran.

Regional authorities are establishing new settlements in Bartella with the aim of repopulating the town. One project under way in an area traditionally occupied by Assyrian Christians is named ‘Sultan City’. The project involves seizing agricultural land owned by Assyrians and converting it into a residential area with hundreds of new homes. The project was first outlined in 2013, but had to be postponed due to the ISIS occupation.

This situation is being repeated, albeit to a lesser extent, in the nearby Assyrian towns of Karamles and Qaraqosh/Bakhdida. As Father Behnem Benoka notes: IS are Sunnis and the Shabak are Shi’ite, “but all are Muslims. Everybody hates the Church, everybody hates Christians and wants them out of their historical places.”

IRAQ: from Nation to Decimation to Elimination — the Plight of Iraq’s Indigenous and Christian Assyrian Nation

Father Behnem Benoka

Cross over the Assyrian town of Bartella

March -- During an ongoing official campaign of repression, six Christians have been arrested in Rasht on national security charges: Hossein Kadivar (Elisha), Khalil Dehghanpour and Pastor Matthias Haghnejad—who has been arrested and tried several times in Rasht, Shiraz and Karaj—was leading a service when he was arrested by Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

Mr Babak Hosseinzadeh and Mr Behnam Akhlagh of the Church of Iran, were arrested while attending a church service on 23 February. A third member, Mr Mehdi Khatibi, was arrested following a summons from the secret police.

A well-known Assyrian, Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz Shamiram and his wife, Shamiram Issavi, led the Assyrian Pentecostal Church of Shahrara in Tehran before it was forced to close in 2009. The Pastor and two members of their congregation, Kavian Fallah-Mohammadi, and Hadi Asgari, were given a ten-year sentence in July 2017, while a third member, Amin Afshar-Naderi, was sentenced to an additional five years for “insulting the sacred” (blasphemy against Islam).

The Iranian religious freedom organisation, Article 18, reports that Shamiram Issavi’s appeal against her five-year jail sentence for “acting against national security” was postponed. The presiding judge, Ahmad Zargar, appeared confused about the details of her case and ruled that her next hearing would take place with the appeal of her husband and the three Christians—all converts to Christianity—who were sentenced with him.

Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Mervyn Thomas said: “The arrests in Rasht are the latest in a heightened campaign of repression that has seen Christians receiving excessive charges and sentences merely for exercising their right to manifest their religion in private and in community with others and in a peaceable manner. Many more are being punished for adopting a religion of their choice in accordance with Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is party. CSW urges the Iranian authorities to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all who have been arrested or imprisoned unjustly. These arrests and sentences constitute a grave violation of the Iranian constitution, as well as of the nation’s international legal obligations.”

by Elizabeth Kendal, CFF Director of Advocacy

In early February, footage emerged online showing Indonesian police using an enormous snake to terrorise a young, handcuffed, indigenous Papuan man they had arrested for allegedly stealing a mobile phone. Javanese Muslim officers routinely film and share abuses against the Melanesian, mostly Christian Papuans. (In fact we have seen worse than this before!) Driven by racial and religious hatred, they are emboldened by a culture of impunity. On 19 February, two weeks after the snake-torture footage went viral, UN human rights experts demanded an independent investigation into the 'cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of indigenous Papuans' by Indonesian police and military in West Papua and Papua Provinces (formerly known as Irian Jaya).

If the UN does launch an investigation, it will coincide with mounting pressure for the UN to address Papua's historic grievances, in particular the controversial 1969 UN-backed Act of Free Choice (known disparagingly as the Act of No Choice). Unless there is change, one of the great missionary stories of the 20th Century will end in tragedy: the slow-motion genocide of a Christian people.

IRAN: Anti-Christian Campaign Continues

PAPUA (EASTERN INDONESIA): UN Experts Call For Investigation of Abuse

Pastor Shamiram and Shamiram Issavi

Pastor Tun Nu, 41, (pictured with his family) was kidnapped at gunpoint in Rakhine state on 19 January by militants thought to be members of the Arakan Army (AA). He was reported killed on 1 February alongside several others held captive, but his body has not been found.

The Barnabas Fund reports that Pastor Thar Tun was kidnapped from his home in Rakhine state, on 13 February by Buddhist militants, also thought to be members of AA. Pastor Tun, 56, who has five children, is the second pastor to be kidnapped in less than a month. It is thought that he was targeted because of his work helping refugees in his home town of Buthidaung.

MYANMAR—Second Pastor Kidnapped by Militant Buddhist Forces

Barnabas Fund

NIGERIA — Christians Terrorised

In the lead up to the national election on February 23, the uptrend in a brutal campaign of violence by Boko Haram and Fulani militants continued throughout Nigeria’s Middle Belt. CSW reports that the election was marred by voter intimidation and irregularities. Thirty nine people are reported to have died in election-related violence. The opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has launched a legal challenge to the declared outcome.

President Buhari had assured Nigerians that Boko Haram would be a “thing of the past” if he were re-elected, but despite violent attacks since his re-election, there have been no major attempts by the Nigerian government to hold the Fulani accountable or to disarm them. In February, International Christian Concern documented at least 60 attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani militants that killed 205 people. The Middle Belt remains a cause of great concern, for confrontation against Christians continues to threaten the stability and prosperity of Nigeria. Human Rights Watch reported, “Increased frequency of violent conflict has been linked to intense pressures on land because of expansion of commercially cultivated areas, corporate mining activities, and competitive overuse of resources: forests, pastoral rangelands and water sources, exacerbated by climate change.”

As bloodshed continues, the humanitarian crisis worsens. Nigeria's Christians live in fear of abduction, violence, and death because of their faith. Christian children are not safe going to school. Radicals disguised as preachers have gunned down unsuspecting worshippers. A January 23 report found that militant Muslims have destroyed a total of 1,125 churches belonging to the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, which is primarily based in the Muslim majority northeast of the nation. President of the denomination, Rev. Joel Billi continues making appeals for the local Muslim-majority government to expedite the rebuilding of places of worship: “Why are we flagrantly neglected ? If not for the inadequacy of our security forces and political undertone, Boko Haram would not have overrun us.”

During International Women’s Day, the Nigerian government came under renewed pressure to secure the release of Christian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram.

On Sunday, January 27, Islamic militants bombed the Catholic cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo during the celebration of Mass. Two explosives were detonated about one minute apart at about 8:45 a.m. At least 20 people were killed and 111 wounded. According to one report, “The initial explosion scattered the wooden pews inside the main hall and blasted glass window panels. The second bomb hurled human remains and debris across a town square in front of the cathedral.” Photos on social media showed human bodies and remains strewn on the street just outside the Cathedral. A colleague of the officiating priest said Father Ricky Bacolcol “was still in shock and could not speak about what happened”. After the first bomb, army troops and police posted outside rushed in when the second bomb was detonated. Fifteen of those killed were civilians, five were military men. Ninety of the wounded were civilians. Located in a Muslim-majority area, the Cathedral was heavily guarded. Grenades were hurled at it twice in 2010, and in 1997, Bishop Benjamin de Jesus was gunned down just outside. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for this most recent attack, adding that the massacre was carried out by “two knights of

martyrdom” against a “crusader temple.” Jolo has long been troubled by the presence of Abu

Sayyaf, an armed Islamic group blacklisted by the US and the Philippines as a terrorist organisation, responsible for bombings, kidnappings and beheadings within the mainly-Christian Philippines. Many believe they may have been responsible for the bombing, possibly carried out as retribution for the outcome of the recent referendum in which Jolo voted not to be part of the autonomous Islamic sub-state being created in Mindanao. President Duterte's spokesman condemned the "act of terrorism" and vowed that government forces will pursue the perpetrators. Barnabas Fund

PHILIPPINES—Cathedral Bombed

Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP

Celebrating faith at a Nigerian cathedral: Wikimedia Commons

Torchbearers for Christ—Overcoming Danger to Shine His Light in Dark Places

“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” Matt 5:17

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand “A man really believes not what he recites in his creed, but only the things he is willing to die for.”

Sabina was released after three years. Richard endured a total of 14 years in prison before his release in 1964.

Though reluctant to leave his homeland, Richard was convinced by Romanian church leaders that only in a free country could he become a “voice” to the world for the suffering underground Church. In December 1965, Christians in Norway raised the $10,000 ransom to allow the family to leave Romania—“one of the worst financial transactions a Communist regime ever made”, for a thousand times that price could not have compensated for the explosive effect of revelations about Communism which the Wurmbrands ignited in the West. Richard’s message, delivered with “some of the most powerful oratory the post-war world had ever heard”, exposed Communist deception, its crimes against humanity and its influence on the international Christian agenda through the World Council of Churches. Speaking ‘truth to power’, he awakened the conscience of millions.

In 1966, Richard gave evidence to a US Senate internal security subcommittee, even stripping to his waist to reveal 18 deep wounds inflicted by his torturers.

In 1967, the family moved from the UK to the US where his ministry to Christians, ‘Jesus to the Communist World’ officially began. It was later renamed, Voice of

the Martyrs.

Richard’s personal testimony, ‘Tortured for Christ’, has been described as “one of the most powerfully inspiring and historically significant testimonies of all time”—a

factor in the eventual collapse of the Ceausescu regime. This record of 14 years in a Communist prison has been filmed on location in Romania, including inside the prison where Richard endured extreme brutality. Even in this grim place, his enemies could not break his spirit, diminish his faith or weaken his desire to love and forgive them and bring them to faith in Christ.

Richard wrote more than 18 books, many of which have become international bestsellers, including ‘In God's Underground’. Variations of his work have been translated into 60 languages.

In 1969 Richard was invited to visit Australia. His compelling message inspired a ’magnificent response’. On the 50th anniversary of the founding of Voice of the Martyrs Australia, CFF honours its magnificent service to persecuted Christians. We give heartfelt thanks to the Lord for the legacy of Pastor Wurmbrand, and all who have advanced his passion for the ‘freedom to

receive and believe’ the Gospel. Willing to die for Christ, he lived to defend the faith of millions.

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, the internationally revered founder of Voice of the Martyrs, was born into a Jewish family in 1909 in R o m a n i a . I n t e l l e c t u a l l y gifted, he was also a highly motivated communicator, speaking nine languages fluently.

In 1936, he and his wife, Sabina, converted to Christianity after a German carpenter gave them a Bible and urged them to read the Gospels. Richard subsequently worked for the Anglican mission to the Jews in Bucharest. During WW2, Richard and Sabina seized opportunities to share the Gospel with occupying German forces. They preached in bomb shelters and rescued Jewish children from the ghettos. They were repeatedly arrested and beaten and, at least once, nearly executed. They lost many members of their Jewish family who perished in Nazi concentration camps.

Following the Communist takeover of Romania in 1945, Richard and Sabina set up an underground church, ministering to their oppressed countrymen while engaging in bold evangelism. They distributed 1 million Gospels—often disguised as Communist propaganda—to Soviet troops who had poured into the country. Richard also helped to arrange the smuggling of Gospels into Russia.

In 1948, Richard and Sabina attended the Congress of Cults, organized by the Romanian Communist government. Many religious leaders came forward to praise Communism and to swear loyalty to the new regime. Demonstrating the bold faith which was the hallmark of his life, Richard strode up to the podium and declared to the delegates - in a speech which was broadcast to the nation - that their duty was to glorify God and Christ alone.

On February 29, 1948, the secret police seized him on his way to church, imprisoning him in Jilava prison where he spent nearly three years in solitary confinement in an underground cell, repeatedly tortured, brain-washed, and forced to watch the humiliation of other Christian prisoners. In 1950, Sabina was also imprisoned and forced into slave labour on the Danube Canal project. Their destitute 9-year-old son, Mihai, was taken in by Christian friends who risked imprisonment to care for the child of political prisoners.

Jmnews.info

CUBA—Christian Leaders Denounced for non-compliance with Communist directives

CSW reports that Cuba’s Communist government has intensified its oppression of religious institutions. Religious liberty violations which have been increasing over the last decade, have almost doubled in the last six months. Reports by Voice of the Martyrs confirm that government persecution is on the rise. Violations include authorities beating pastors and lay workers, dragging politically dissident women away from Sunday services and enforcing arbitrary detentions, church closures, and demolitions. Most of the women being detained and forced to miss church were Catholics and Ladies in White who are related to political prisoners. The Cuban Office of Religious Affairs has authority over all religious groups in Cuba with whom it has a “consistently antagonistic relationship”. In the lead up to a referendum on a new constitution on 24 February, Church leaders were targeted in a government campaign of intimidation to force them to instruct their congregations to vote ‘yes’. Many were branded as ‘mercenaries’ and ‘counter revolutionaries’ and threatened with imprisonment for non-compliance with a Constitution which they believe denies their religious freedoms and significantly weakens freedom of conscience. When Rev. Carlos Sebastián, General Secretary of the

Western Baptist Convent, was told he would no longer

be treated as a pastor, but as a ‘counter-revolutionary’, he

said: “I have total confidence that, even in Cuba, God

reigns. Pray for me and my family…because at any

moment they could take me prisoner.”

Students and workers were summoned to meetings and

instructed to vote ‘Yes’; government officials sometimes

screaming insults at anyone who expressed an intention

to vote ‘No’. At least one was dismissed from his job.

Churches are often pressured to expel congregants the government considers political dissidents. CSW called on the government to cease harassment and pressure tactics, observing: “It is telling that the Cuban government now considers calling for freedom of religion or belief is a ‘counter-revolutionary’ activity.”

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The Barnabas Fund reports that a further 44 arrests of members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Sichuan province were made on Sunday 24 February. Those arrested included ten children and a two-month-old baby. “This is only the tip of the iceberg,” said a church statement which also noted that “at least two members have been violently beaten by police.“

Since the current wave of persecution against the Early Rain Covenant Church began in December 2018, three hundred members have been arrested or detained. About 100 others have been ordered by police to leave Chengdu and return to their hometowns.

Journalist and church deacon, Zhang Guoqing, was missing for several days before it was discovered that he was being held in police custody for “provoking trouble”. He had published an account of an assault on Pastor Wang Yi ’s elderly mother, Chen Yaxue, by policemen on 24 February. One officer had reportedly grabbed her hair and kicked her, while another held her down after she refused to reveal her PIN number at an ATM. Corruption and greed among local officials have apparently become an acute factor affecting both registered and unregistered churches. Research by Brent Fulton, published on May 5th, 2014, cites corruption by local officials among factors which trigger persecution of Christians in China, but which may not be directly related to religion.

According to a recent statement by Early Rain Covenant Church, eight Christian families were evicted from their homes and two fired from their jobs following police pressure on landlords and employers. Early Rain Covenant Church Pastor Wang Yi and his wife, Jiang Rong, have been in jail since 9 December on charges of “inciting subversion”. In a letter from the jail, he states that Christians do not wish to overturn the state, but simply wish to worship in peace. Twelve Christians are currently being held in criminal detention, eleven are in “administrative detention” (often used to detain human rights protesters for up to 15 days), and one is missing.

Barnabas Fund has launched a global initiative to pray for Pastor Wang Yi and other prisoners of conscience.

CHINA– Persecution Intensifies

Earnest worship at the Early Rain Covenant Church

Barnabas Fund