North Korea to release prisoners, but spots may be filled with Christians

North Korea (ODM/MNN) ―North Korea has announced it will release an unspecified number of prisoners starting today.

The amnesty is in commemorative honor of deceased leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, who would have been turning 100 and 70, respectively, this year.

Open Doors, USA reports that it is not unusual for North Korea to release prisoners for a leader's birthday, but general amnesties used to be granted twice a year until 2005. After that, only occasionally have prisoners been released before they have served their sentences.

It is still unclear as to how many prisoners will be released, but it's certain that only "re-educated" prisoners will be granted amnesty--prisoners who have been in a re-education camp for several years and have performed well in their tasks and in the mandatory ideology classes.

Christian prisoners will almost certainly not be released. People in political labor camps will never be released because they are labeled as "incurable." Those camps are full of politically-active people, refugees who are suspected to have been in contact with South Koreans, and ideological opponents such as Christians.

The prisoner release in North Korea is a bittersweet event. It's good news for those who will leave, but prisoners make up the bulk of North Korea's labor force. Therefore, as prisoners are released, others will need to be arrested to fill their spots. It would not be the first time that the police are ordered to increase the number of arrests. Those arrested could easily include Christians.

These prison camps have been described as torturous.

"I was in a small camp, not for my Christian activities, but because I was arrested in China," one young Christian told Open Doors. "Every day someone died, and I was forced to take the person outside the camp and bury him or her."

Another Christian spent several years in the most infamous camp, Yodok, a place he describes as "a living mass grave. The whole system made me desperate. I saw people dying of hunger and sickness. I saw executions. But one day we had to assemble in a big hall, and it was made known that in honor of the birthday of one of the leaders, a few prisoners would be released for good behavior. At that moment, I made the decision that I would be a model prisoner and I would survive this. I knew that I would have to stay at least three to five years in Yodok in order to be considered for release. I determined not to make any mistakes."

More than 1% of the total North Korean population wakes up in a prison or labor camp each day. The number of Christians in the political camps is estimated at 40,000 to 70,000.

North Korea is ranked the #1 persecutor of Christians by the Open Doors 2012 World Watch List of the 50 worst persecutors of believers. It was the 10th straight time North Korea has been ranked No. 1.

Pray for Christians during this amnesty. Pray that believers might be released and be safe from arrests. Pray that no matter what happens, the Gospel will not be silenced in North Korea. 

India Briefs: Recent Incidents of Persecution

By Mahruaii Sailo

 

Orissa, India, January 31 (Compass Direct News) – A Hindu extremist in Adigar, Phulbani, Kandhamal district on Jan. 25 attacked a pastor’s hut and harassed his family, according to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). Jaleshwar Pradhan threw stones at the home of Pastor Patiba Mohan Kota while he was away, verbally abused his wife and pushed his daughters, shouting, “You Christians must not live here – it is not your land; the last time your houses were only damaged, this time all of you will be buried here,” the GCIC reported. Though damage to the house was minimal, the pastor and his family were anguishing in fear as Hindu extremists have previously tortured him physically, causing partial loss of eyesight and hearing, reported the GCIC. The pastor was among those whose houses were destroyed during anti-Christian violence in 2008. Pradhan was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, reported the GCIC.

 

Karnataka – Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Jan. 23 barged into a prayer meeting led by Pastor Chandrakanth Chavan of New Life Fellowship in Haliyal, Kanara, beat him and stripped him naked. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the extremists shouted at the Christians in coarse language as they started beating and kicking Pastor Chavan and Kishore Kavalekar before parading the naked pastor in a procession throughout the village. At about midnight they tied the pastor to a tree near a temple and sent for police. Haliyal Police Sub-Inspector Umesh Shet and a dozen officers took Pastor Chavan and Kavalekar into custody for questioning, according to the GCIC. Both were charged and locked up but were released the same night.

 

Orissa – Raikia police on Jan. 9 arrested Pastor Sukadeb Digal from his home in Sipainju (or Sipainjari) village, Tiangia, G-Udayagiri Block, in Kandhamal district on false charges of forced or fraudulent conversion. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that police incarcerated him. Digal, pastor of Danekbadi Baptist Church at Daringbadi, remained in jail at press time.

 

Karnataka – Armed Hindu extremists on Jan. 9 beat Christians at a prayer service in Anekal, Bangalore, seriously injuring a pastor and others and accusing them of forceful conversion. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that a pastor identified only as Shanthakumar had organized the service at the home of another Christian where about 20 people had gathered in the Coogur area. At about 10:30 p.m. some 20 Hindu extremists attacked with huge clubs and iron rods, ranting in foul language and accusing them of fraudulent and forcible conversion, according to the GCIC. In the beatings, Pastor Shanthakumar lost one finger, and a church member identified only as Yashodamma received treatment for head and nerve injuries at Anekal Government Hospital. Another church member identified only as Vijay suffered a serious leg injury. The Christians reported the matter to the police; officials have held an inquiry and registered a First Information Report against the extremists, but no arrests have been made.

 

Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal on Jan. 17 beat a pastor and another church member in Yadagirgutta, accusing them of forceful conversion. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that the pastor, identified only as Kiran, and another Christian were on their way to visit a church member who works with the tourism department in Yadagirigutta, Bhogri, a Hindu pilgrimage town, when the extremists took notice and gathered a mob to attack them. As is customary in India, police arrived and arrested the victims. After area Christian leaders’ intervention, the accusations against the two Christians were found to be baseless, and they were released without charges, according to the AICC.

 

Karnataka – Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal on Jan. 1 attacked a New Year’s prayer service and accused a pastor of forceful conversion in Humnoor, Bagalkot. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the extremists stormed into the prayer meeting led by Pastor Siddu Seemanth Gunike of Blessing Youth Mission Church, ordered it to stop and beat the pastor, alleging that he was involved in fraudulent and forced conversions. After manhandling the pastor and other Christians, the extremists sent for Jamkhandi police, according to the GCIC. The sub-inspector and a few other officers arrived and began questioning those present. Area Christian leaders intervened, and police took a written statement from the extremists that they would not disturb the Christians again; officers advised the Christians to continue their prayer services.

 

Karnataka – About a dozen Hindu extremists in North Kanara forced their way into a New Year’s Eve prayer service, ordered Christians to stop praying and beat them. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that extremists led by Biju Nair and a friend identified only as Venkatesh accused the Christians of fraudulent and forcible conversions. The extremists informed police, and two police constables arrived and joined in harassing the Christians, threatening to harm them. The officers ordered the pastor to go to the police station the next morning, and on that day Christians filed a police complaint against the extremists and the two constables for trespassing on church property and for their heavy-handed tactics, according to the GCIC. Later, the Christians met with Ramnagar Police Sub-Inspector Babu Madar and briefed him about the incident. The sub-inspector reprimanded the two constables and advised the pastor to continue the prayer services without fear.

 

www.compassdirect.org

 

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Copyright 2012 Compass Direct News

Campus ministry chided for 'discrimination' among leadership

USA (MNN) ― The Gospel has offended enough people that InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has been threatened with suspension from another college campus.

Over this past school year, Vanderbilt University leadership decided to place on provisional status InterVarsity's Graduate Christian Fellowship and three other campus Christian groups for non-compliance with Vanderbilt's anti-discrimination policy.

The anti-discrimination policy, as it currently stands, would prohibit a Christian organization from using any religious criteria when selecting leaders. InterVarsity believes such a policy not only flies in the face of common sense, but is contrary to the spirit of the Freedom of Religion protections in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Senior Vice President and Director of Collegiate Ministries for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA Jim Lundgren has sent a letter to InterVarsity's Vanderbilt University chapter alumni and others asking for prayer in support of religious freedom at Vanderbilt.

"We love the university environment, and we welcome all students and faculty into our chapter activities at Vanderbilt," Lundgren said in the letter. "However, it is essential that InterVarsity student leaders be committed Christians who understand their faith as they seek to lead their peers. No organization of any kind can survive without leaders committed to its basic beliefs."

Lundgren is asking for prayers that Vanderbilt will change its position and allow religious organizations to choose leaders who believe in the principles and beliefs of those organizations.

A Town Hall meeting will be held on the Vanderbilt campus on tonight. University officials will explain how the anti-discrimination policy will be applied to student groups at that time.

For more background on the Vanderbilt situation, click here where you can check out statements by Vanderbilt's leadership, a response from an InterVarsity Campus Staff Member at Vanderbilt, and an open letter to Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. 

Christian Charged with ‘Blasphemy’ in Pakistan Denied Bail

Young man accused after argument with his landlord.

LAHORE, Pakistan, January 30 (CDN) — A judge has denied bail to a young Christian man charged with desecrating the Quran under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws despite the lack of evidence against him, sources said.

Police in Shahdara, near Lahore, had arrested 23-year-old Khuram Masih on Dec. 5 and charged him with desecrating the Quran after his landlord, Zulfiqar Ali, alleged that he had burned pages of the book in order to prepare tea. Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or use of an extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment.

Masih’s previous lawyers, Muhammad Farhad Tirmizi and Liaqat John, on Jan. 3 petitioned for his bail. In their petition, they stated to Additional Sessions Judge Anjum Raza Syed that police had registered a false case against Masih based on hearsay, and that police had not found any incriminating evidence.

Judge Syed, however, refused to grant bail to Masih on grounds that the case was “very sensitive, and bail to the accused would fan religious sentiments and cause a great mishap.”

Asif Aqeel, executive director of the Community Development Initiative (CDI), an affiliate of the European Centre for Law and Justice, told Compass that the lawyers hired by Masih’s relatives should not have petitioned the trial court for Masih’s bail so soon.

“There’s no use moving for bail in the trial court, because the lower courts cannot sustain pressure in such cases,” Aqeel said. “The judges in trial court are under extreme pressure from religious quarters and simply cannot set a blasphemy accused free on bail after just a month of the incident.”

He added that, similarly, trial courts in blasphemy cases tend to deliver guilty verdicts due to the same pressures from Muslims.

CDI lawyer Niaz Amer, who has now acquired Masih’s power of attorney, would make efforts for his bail in the Lahore High Court once the proceedings begin, Aqeel added.

“It is very unfortunate for those accused of blasphemy, but this is how the legal system of Pakistan operates,” he said. ‘The accused have to spend several months, even years, in jail without bail, just because the judges are unwilling to put their own lives at risk from religious extremists.”

In their petition for bail, Masih’s lawyers stated that in First Information Report (FIR) No. 1211/2011, complainant Ali had claimed that Masih’s neighbors had tried to stop him from burning the pages of the Quran and had ignored their requests, and that the Christian ran away when Ali arrived at his home.

“It is further alleged in the FIR that the petitioner [Masih] was arrested later from the same spot when the police arrived,” the bail application states, adding that the charges against Masih were concocted and baseless because the complainant had not witnessed the alleged incident. No other person is mentioned in the FIR to substantiate the allegations.

At the same time, Napoleon Qayyum, a Christian rights advocate and field officer of CDI, denied reports that Masih has been tortured or mistreated by prison authorities.

“Someone has misreported that Masih has been tortured at the District Camp Jail, where he is currently being held,” Qayyum said. ‘I am in regular contact with Masih and his family, and he has not been harmed by anyone in jail.”

Masih has said that he was falsely accused in the case because he had had an argument with his landlord, Ali, earlier in the day over the rent of the house in which he and his wife, Bano, a convert from Hinduism, lived along with five other families.

A Christian rights activist in Shahdara, Khalid Shahzad, had earlier told Compass that police had shown unnecessary haste in registering the case (see “Christian Charged with ‘Blasphemy’ after Argument,” Dec. 26, 2011).


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Petition for Asia Bibi on its way to one million signatures

Pakistan (MNN) ― After hundreds of thousands of signatures, Voice of the Martyrs is still calling for more to speak up on behalf of believer Asia Bibi.

In November 2010, Bibi was falsely accused of blasphemy and thereby sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court of Pakistan.

Bibi has been in jail ever since. Although she appealed the case, no verdict has been made. She remains apart from her husband and two daughters. If the High Court does decide that Bibi is guilty, the case could be appealed to Pakistan's Supreme Court.

Voices have not been silent about Bibi. VOM's Todd Nettleton recently told Assist News that the number of international signatures on a petition for Bibi's freedom has now reached well over half a million.

The petition was delivered to the Pakistani Embassy when it had just 400,000 signatures in November. Since then, 160,000 more have signed for Bibi's release.

"More than 560,000 people around the world have signed a petition asking the Pakistani government to release Asia Bibi, a Christian wife and mother falsely accused of blasphemy against Mohammed and sentenced to death by a Pakistani court," noted Nettleton.

The online petition, at www.CallForMercy.com, was launched by The Voice of the Martyrs after 150,000 Pakistani Christians started the petition calling for justice for Asia Bibi and better protection of religious minorities in Pakistan.

The goal now is to reach one million signatures asking for Bibi's release. Help reach one million by clicking here so the Gospel might spread freely in Pakistan in the future. 

Overseas Chinese Christian Businesswoman Who Visited House Churches in China is Kidnapped, Tortured by State Security Agents

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- A Chinese Christian businesswoman from Canada who visited China late last year was kidnapped and tortured by Chinese state security agents after she visited two persecuted Chinese house churches during the Christmas and New Year's holiday season, ChinaAid has learned.

Photo: Jenny Chen took this photo on Christmas Day 2011 of an armored personnel carrier and other police vehicles outside Jindeng Church in Linfen, Shanxi province.

Jenny Chen, who is in her 50s, was held by state security agents and denied food and water for nearly two days.  About to go into shock, she was taken to a police hospital, from where she managed to escape and get on a flight to Los Angeles, arriving in the United States on Jan. 17.

Chen, who does business in Canada, the United States and China, had learned of the severe persecution inflicted on Shouwang Church in Beijing and the Linfen house church in Shanxi province from reports online.

Motivated by Christian concern for her fellow believers, Chen and her daughter traveled to Beijing and Shanxi.  On Christmas Day, she was an eyewitness to police action in front of the Jindeng Church established by the Linfen house church.  She saw both regular and armed police and police vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, surrounding the church to stop church members from attending a Christmas worship service. Police blocked streets leading to the church and closed nearby shops.  Chen was followed and threatened by plainclothes police officers.

In Beijing, Chen had paid a visit before Christmas to Rev. Jin Tianming, senior pastor of Shouwang Church, who has been under house arrest since April 2011, and on New Year's Day, she and her daughter attempted to attend Shouwang's outdoor worship service. (See her account here: www.chinaaid.org/2012/01/new-years-visit-to-shouwang-church.html.)  On both occasions, she was followed by Domestic Security Protection agents.

Aware that they were being followed more and more closely, Chen put her daughter on a U.S.-bound plane on Jan. 10, then returned to her hometown in the city of Tianjin.  On the evening of Jan. 14, she was forcibly taken into custody by two plain-clothed state security agents who refused to show their IDs and taken to a secret place for questioning.  She later realized that she had been kidnapped by Tianjin state security agents.  She was interrogated in a cold, windowless cell with only one chair, and was asked what organization she was affiliated with and what overseas mission she was on.  Chen said she had no organizational affiliation nor was she on any overseas mission.  She said she was simply an overseas Christian whose conscience had propelled her to return to China to visit her fellow believers.  The agents appeared not to believe her and threatened to imprison her for more than ten years for subverting state power and stealing state secrets if she did not tell them the truth.  The agents also beat her, pulling her hair and slapping her hard. 

Chen was detained for nearly two days without food and water, and almost went into shock. 

Physically exhausted, she was sent to the Tianjin Public Safety Hospital, where she was diagnosed with slight pneumonia and had to be hospitalized.  However, Chen had no money with her, and the state security agents said they had no money either.  The hospital refused to treat her, giving her the excuse of returning home to get money.  Instead, she took a cab and rushed to Beijing Capital Airport, where she caught a flight in the early morning of Jan. 16.  She arrived in Los Angles on the following day and is currently undergoing medical observation and treatment.

"It is appalling to hear what Ms. Chen had experienced at the hands of the brutal Chinese security forces for simply visiting and trying to worship with the Chinese Christians during the Christmas season," said Eddie Romero, director of ChinaAid's Los Angeles office. "The unprecedented persecution against the peaceful house churches like Shouwang and Linfen should be stopped. We urge the Chinese government's highest authorities to hold those abusers accountable for the harm done to this businesswoman, Ms. Chen."

Jenny Chen's journal New Year's Visit to Shouwang Church:www.chinaaid.org/2012/01/new-years-visit-to-shouwang-church.html