Imprisoned Christian Newspaper Editor, South China Church Leader Li Ying Released Five Years Early

Li Ying

JINMEN, Hubei, China, Feb. 23, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- A Christian newspaper editor and house church leader sentenced in 2002 to 15 years' imprisonment for "intentional assault" was released almost five years before the end of her prison term as the result of a world-wide letter-writing campaign and other international efforts on her behalf.

 

Li Ying, of the South China Church in Hubei province, was released on Dec. 25, 2011. She tearfully told ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu that during her 10 years in prison, thousands of letters for her were sent to the prison. She said the letters had helped to significantly improve her prison conditions and contributed to her early release. She expressed thanks to ChinaAid and asked ChinaAid to convey her gratitude to the international community and churches worldwide.

 

Li was one of the first prisoners featured by the international human rights group Voice of the Martyrs on its www.prisoneralert.com website, from where concerned Christians could write letters of encouragement to imprisoned Christians. According to Voice of the martyrs, more than 11,400 letters were written to Li through the site since 2004.

 

Li is the niece of Pastor Gong Shengliang, founder of the South China Church, one of the fastest growing house-church movements in China. She was also editor in chief of the church newspaper, South China Special Edition (Huanan Zhuankan). She had been arrested several times and had previously spent a year in prison in 1996.

 

As a condition of her release, Li was required to sign a guarantee to submit to "community correction," which included the requirement that she live only in government-appointed neighborhoods and attend government-appointed churches.

 

In December 2001, Li was one of 17 South China Church leaders who were convicted of "using a cult to undermine enforcement of the law," five of whom were sentenced to death. Li was one of them. But as a result of the ensuing international outcry, a higher court in Hubei revoked the death sentences in September 2002, citing lack of clarity about certain facts and insufficient evidence, and the Jinmen Intermediate Court in October 2002 retried the case. Instead of the crime of "using a cult," the five who had been condemned to death were convicted of "intentional assault."  

 

The five were Gong Shengliang, Xu, Fuming, Hu Yong, Gong Bangkun, and Li Ying. Gong Shengliang was also convicted of rape. Three of them -- Gong Shengliang, Xu Fuming, and Hu Yong -- were sentenced to life imprisonment.  Gong Bangkun and Li Ying were given 15-year prison terms.

Priests Released amid Wave of Abductions in Sudan

Southern Sudan Christians in north targeted for forcible conscription into rebel militias.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, February 15 (CDN) — Two Catholic priests abducted at gunpoint in Rabak, Sudan last month have been released amid a wave of forcible conscriptions into rebel southern militias.


Their captors – South Sudanese militiamen loyal to (north) Sudan’s Islamic government – accused the Rev. Joseph Makwey and the Rev. Sylvester Mogga of ties to the South Sudan military. South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan on July 9, 2011, has been in military conflict with (north) Sudan over border areas while staving off southern rebel militias.


“They knew we were just priests, yet they ‘arrested’ us,” Mogga told Compass.


The two priests were kidnapped from the compound of St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic Church on Jan. 15 and were released two weeks later, they said. For security reasons they would not discuss conditions of their release, but the kidnappers had demanded 500,000 Sudanese pounds (US$185,530); press reports indicated no ransom was paid and that they were released after pressure from influential groups including the government in Khartoum.


Christians in Sudan have complained of a spike in threats against them by South Sudanese militias rebelling against the new South Sudan government. The South Sudanese rebels go house-to-house in Khartoum and other towns in the north abducting mainly Christian men, Christian sources said; hundreds of young men have been forcibly conscripted, while older men are either killed or ransomed.


The kidnappers tortured the two clergymen physically and psychologically, and they are now undergoing medical treatment, sources said; they will require more time to recover.


“The two Catholic priests were mistreated,” Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Adwok Kur told Compass by phone.


There are at least three South Sudanese militia groups fighting against the government of South Sudan with the support of the government of Sudan. With almost no support within South Sudan, they have resorted to forcibly conscripting South Sudanese who are still living in (north) Sudan, where the government supports them as part of an effort to rid the country of Christianity, sources said.


Christians in (north) Sudan said that such abductions are increasing as the Islamic government in Khartoum supports these militias, which are fighting the government of South Sudan and the South Sudan-based Sudanese People’s Liberation Army


“Christians in Khartoum live in fear as they become the target of these militia groups,” one church leader said.


Episcopal Leaders KidnappedIn a separate incident, two leaders from the Episcopal Church of Sudan were abducted at gunpoint on the same day by members of the same militia in Gerif West, near a local Bible school in Khartoum, sources said.


Michael Mikol and Jacob Makeer were kidnapped on Jan. 15 at around 7 p.m. and were released one hour later, after the assailants took their mobile phones and other belongings, according to Christian sources in Khartoum.


Christians from South Sudan and South Kordofan in Khartoum are afraid to attend church services because these militias are targeting them, the sources said.


The official Islamic clerical authority in Sudan has called on the body tasked with drafting the country’s constitution to ensure inclusion of sharia (Islamic law), reported the Sudan Tribune website.


Sudan’s [Muslim] Scholars Association, a body of state-controlled imams and clerics, issued the statement last week.


Sudan’s Interim National Constitution holds up sharia as a source of legislation, and the laws and policies of the government favor Islam, according to a U.S. Department of State report. On several occasions in the past year, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has warned that Sudan’s constitution will be more firmly entrenched in sharia.

Christian couple attacked soon after their release from prison in Iran

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

HAMEDAN, IRAN (ANS) -- An Iranian Christian were attacked soon after their release from prison, according to the FCNN (Farsi Christian News Network) news agency www.fcnn.com .

FCNN says they were one of two married couples who had been taken from their home by agents of the Ministry of State Security of the Islamic Regime in Sep. 2010, and held imprisoned for up to eight months without ever being formally charged.

This Christian couple, Arash Kermajani and his wife Arezoo Teymouri, who had been snatched and illegally-detained on their way to their homes and families, were attacked after their release from prison, and soon after this, fled the country for fear of their lives.

Twenty-nine-year-old Mr. Arash Kermajani, and his 26-year-old wife Mrs. Arezoo Teymouri, had to go into hiding and eventually leave their country for fear of their lives as a result of threats by elements of the Islamic Regime.

According to FCNN, this Christian couple were detained while guests of their friends Mr. and Mrs. Vahik and Sonia Abramian in Hamedan, in northwestern Iran.

FCNN reported that plain-clothes agents of the Ministry of State Security of the Islamic Regime raided the house, arrested them all, and took them to Centre 113 of Hamedan. They were then taken to a secret prison which was later identified as the central prison of Ministry of State Security of the Islamic Regime in Hamedan.

FCNN says that throughout their detention in this secret prison, they were kept in solitary confinement. Mrs. Arezoo Teymouri for 11 days, and her husband Arash Kermajani for 43 days; then transferred to the general ward of yet another notorious prison in Hamedan.
Solitary confinement and general prison ward

After their escape from the Islamic Republic, Mrs. Arezoo Teymouri, in an interview with an FCNN reporter, spoke of the conditions under which she was held and the reasons for her transfer to the general ward so much sooner than her husband: “ We were staying as guests at Brother Vahik and Sister Sonia’s house. On that particular day we were watching a film when State Security agents stormed in, the shock and induced fear caused spasms of bleeding, which coupled with the hunger strike that I started soon after, reduced my blood pressure to such a dangerously low levels that they were forced to take me to the city’s main hospital, demanding that I should not communicate nor speak, with anyone. As soon as my conditions improved, I was led back to the secret prison and then to the general ward of Hamedan’s main female prison.”

Remembering the harsh treatment she made to suffer in prison, Arezoo told the FCNN reporter that, “Just to put an innocent woman in solitary is in itself a severe form of torture. They did not inflict any physical torture on my body, but did not for a second stop their psychological tortures.”

Arezoo went on to say: “They ridiculed and debased me at every opportunity. Whenever I spoke of my Christian beliefs they imitated, ridiculed, and laughed at me. Well aware of my past life, they used it to crush me psychologically and reduce me to confessing to what they demanded. But I had learnt that reminders of a sinful past is Satanic, and so their attacks did not have any effect on my resolve to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ and to reconcile myself to the fact that He Will protect His flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who upon the Cross, took our sins unto Himself, is standing right by me -- Alive, Comforting, and Protective -- proving their falsehood.

She was asked if she was ever afraid?

Arezoo replied: “They tried very hard to frighten me, and I knew the situation was critical and felt my life in danger, so I naturally was terrified; but my belief in Jesus, and witnessing God’s work in my life helped me overcome their threats and not to allow fear overpowering me.”

Fear and Hope 

Remembering his imprisonment in the hands of the State Security agents of the Islamic Republic, Arash Kermajani told the FCNN: “The first few days were the most difficult, I was afraid of what may happen to Arezoo and prayed for her all the time, asking my Lord to protect and save her. Then He gave me His calm and assurance concerning her fate and I was able to accept His decision in humility; I realized that God’s power is far greater than my fears. From then on my mind was at peace and I could clearly see the hand of God protecting us.”

Talking about the prison guards, Arash said: “I was under constant pressure to confess to have been helping foreigners against my country; my Christian beliefs were questioned and it was denigrated to the level of childish thoughts and a passing trend. To tell you the truth, there was a full-scale war going on inside those prison walls. But their efforts were for naught, none of the guards nor were agents of the Ministry of State Security of the Islamic Republic of any consequence. I was dealing vital blows to the heart of the enemy and was battling Satan with the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Explaining the reasons for their release from prison, Arash said: “The fact is that they had no excuse to detain us in the first place, and we have done absolutely nothing to warrant any punishment, and they knew it well. While in prison we actually heard that we have been accused of being ‘ideological thieves and members of a Zionist group opposing the Islamic Regime.’

“There was no substance to these spurious claims, and in no way was it possible to connect us to anything as their claimed. My wife and I are both from dysfunctional families and background. We have been directly touched and saved by Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has turned our lives around. For this reason, and to thank God for his deliverance, we only spoke of our own personal experiences with Jesus Christ to people and especially other social victims. After eight months I guess they realized they were wrong about us, and caught on the fact that we are but simple witnesses to Christ.”

Threats and Escape from the Islamic Republic 
Speaking about their freedom and eventual escape from the Islamic Republic, Arash Kermajani stated: “Without any prior notice we were simply told to get out, nor were our families informed; nobody was aware of our sudden freedom.

“Coming out of the prison, which is some distance from the city of Hamedan, we were forced to move a long way before we reached the main road.”

He added: “Mrs. Sonia Keshish Avanesian, Arezoo, and I got in a hired car and as it started to move, three motorcycles with pylon riders surrounded the car and rode some distance alongside the car screaming obscenities and throwing bricks at the car. All the way to Tehran we feared for our safety and lives.”

Talking about their flight from the Islamic Republic, Arash said: “To tell you the truth, from the moment we got out of the prison gates we never felt safe, actually quite the opposite. We feared attack by Islamic vigilantes and Agents of the Islamic Regime. All venues of work and employment were closed to us and we were constantly under surveillance; so we decided to leave the country for our own safety and seek refuge elsewhere.”

Arezoo and Arash are now in one of the neighboring countries awaiting relocation by the UNHCR. They wished not to have been forced to leave the country of their birth, but pray to be able to serve the Lord wherever they are being sent to.

FCNN has prepared an extensive interview with this young couple which will be broadcast soon.

“This interview promises to be a moving testimony to the power of Our Lord Jesus Christ in their lives and the lives of many others who have been saved by His Grace,” the news agency said.

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** Michael Ireland is the Senior International Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior International Reporter

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** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Release of Christian prisoner Vahik Abrahamian after enduring one year of captivity in Iran

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries


HAMEDAN, IRAN (ANS) -- Pastor Vahik Abrahamian, a 45-year-old Armenian Christian, was released from prison during the morning of Monday, August 29, 2011, after suffering greatly behind bars for a year, and has now rejoined his family.

Pastor Vahik Abrahamian pictured with his wife Sonia before they were arrested

According to the Farsi Christian News Network (www.fcnn.com), Pastor Abrahamian was arrested by security agents, together with his wife Sonia Keshish Avanessian, on Saturday September 4, 2010, in his home in Hamedan, which is believed to be among the oldest Iranian cities and one of the most ancient in the world.



Pastor Vahik and his wife, together with family friends, Arash and Arezou, were all held for 44 days in solitary confinement in the Iranian Ministry of Information's detention center.

"In this period all were subjected to intensive interrogation and severe mental and psychological torture without any permission to contact family or friends," a spokesperson for FCCN told the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).

"They were then moved to the Hamedan prison's general ward and after eight months of ordeal they were proven not guilty in a court hearing and subsequently Sonia, Arash and Arezou were released on April 30, 2010, but Pastor Vahik was held back until now."
During his one year imprisonment, FCNN obtained reports of Pastor Abrahamian's poor health and also about the prison's "deplorable hygiene conditions which made family, friends and entire Christian community extremely concerned."

The FCCN spokesperson went on to say, "This anxiety was heightened upon the release of the three other prisoners. The Christian community worldwide, particularly the Iranian Christian community has been faithfully holding Pastor Vahik in prayers. The news of worldwide prayer was a cause of comfort and strength and encouragement for the immediate family in Iran and overseas.

"It is noteworthy to note that despite his obtaining citizenship in the Netherlands and the possibility of leading a comfortable life there, Pastor Vahik Abrahamian opted to return to his beloved country and he and his wife Sonia dedicated their efforts and meager resources to reach out and assist drug addicts and all sorts of abused people in the society.

"Vahik, having been miraculously touched by Christ his Lord and Savior, considered of utmost priority and privilege to reach out to the outcasts and down-casts of the society.

"It is ironic that the authorities, despite witnessing the pure motives, selfless attitude and indeed the wonderful result of Vahik and Sonia's sacrificial efforts, instead of offering support and assistance arrested him on February 2010 and held him on trumped-up charges in the infamous Evin prison for 53 days in solitary confinement and 5 days in the general ward.

"He was released after his family and friends posted a cash bail of 10 million Toomans pending his trial," added the FCCN spokesperson. "Vahik and Sonia had already moved out to Hamedan to live peacefully and serve the community away from the clutter of the capital and were indeed in their own home with one other couple when they were suddenly arrested."

An extended member of Vahik and Sonia Abrahamian's family has told FCNN that the whole family is "rejoicing" and "expressed their gratitude first to God for His gracious protection and intervention and secondly to the Christian family worldwide who have not ceased praying and advocating on their behalf."

"FCNN would like to add its thankfulness to all who have been raising awareness and prayers in churches and writing notes and letters of encouragement and support," stated the spokesperson. "Let's pray for other Christians still held in captivity particularly for Farshid Fathi who has been held in Evin prison for over six months.

"Vahik and Sonia have refrained speaking with anyone outside immediate family hence it has not been possible to ascertain his physical and emotional well-being.

"FCNN would like to ask all to pray for Vahik and Sonia's and Arash and Arezou's physical and emotional healing," concluded the spokesperson.

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Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available this link.

Christians remain in prison as Iranian Supreme Leader Pardons 100 'Security' Prisoners During Ramadan

By Michael Ireland
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

IRAN (ANS) -- Iranian news sources are reporting that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ordered the release of 100 prisoners convicted of what are described as "security offenses."

According to www.Mohabatnews.com  , the report compiled from news agencies by RFE/RL, says some of those being released were among people who were detained during the unrest that erupted over the disputed 2009 reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Mohabat News says Tehran's Prosecutor-General, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, was quoted by the Fars news agency as saying the detainees were pardoned "after they repented."

The announced release comes near the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and as Iranian politicians are reportedly starting to prepare for parliamentary elections due next March, Mohabat News stated.
The news agency website says there are still some Iranian Christians held in the prisons of Iran with their fate being unclear.

"Their only accusation is to praise Jesus Christ as their Lord and to share their faith with others. None of the authorities care about their situation and their families who are under pressure and uncertainty," the website reported.

Farshid Fathi, the father of two, is being detained in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. He has spent more than 9 months in jail. The judge ordered that he be temporarily freed on bail, but due to the high amount of the bail, his family has not been able to provide the money and free their beloved.

Meanwhile, Vahik Abrahamian has been kept in prison in Hamadan for nearly a year and suffers from the lack of the medical help and bad health conditions.

Please pray for Vahik and Farshid and many others imprisoned in Iran who are jailed just because of their faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ.

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** Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of th e National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior Reporter