Blind Activist Chen Guangcheng Gives First interview Since Gaining Freedom in the US

Blind Activist Chen Guangcheng Gives First interview Since Gaining Freedom in the US: "By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

NEW YORK (ANS) -- Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng told CNN in his first in-depth TV interview since his dramatic escape from house arrest, about his departure from China and his continuing concern for family and friends he left behind."

Read more...

Chen Guangcheng’s nephew could face death penalty

Chen Guangcheng’s nephew could face death penalty: "By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

LONDON, UK (ANS) -- Britain’s Channel 4 TV network is reporting that it's correspondents tried to visit the mother and four brothers of Chen Guangcheng, the blind, self-educated lawyer who was flown to safety in the United States last Saturday as part of a deal reached between China and the US.

In an online report on its website blogs.channel4.com, the network says Chen’s relatives still live in a small rural community of 200 called Dongshigu in Shandong Province in north-east China. The village is currently patrolled by a large number of non-uniformed men who act as guards and enforcers on behalf of the local government."

Read more...

UK Christian Rights Group Calls for Release of South Korean Activists Detained In China

UK Christian Rights Group Calls for Release of South Korean Activists Detained In China:
"By Dan Wooding, one of the few Christian journalists to report from North Korea
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

LONDON, UK (ANS) -- Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights group, is concerned about the welfare of Kim Young Hwan, a South Korean activist working for democracy and human rights in North Korea, and three of his colleagues, after they were arrested in China on March, 29, 2012, and has called upon the Chinese authorities to release them.

“Kim Young Hwan entered China on 23 March 23, 2012,” said a CSW spokesperson. “A week later, after losing contact with him, his family reported him missing to the South Korean Foreign Ministry. South Korean officials discovered that on March 29, 2012, he had been arrested by the Chinese authorities along with three of his colleagues whilst visiting Liaoning Province, on the border with North Korea.”"

Read more...

Islamist Mob Throws Urine on Church in Indonesia

Islamist Mob Throws Urine on Church in Indonesia: "Pastor receives death threat; no arrests so far."

NEW DELHI, May 23 (Compass Direct News) – No arrests have been made since 600 Islamists hurled bags filled with urine and ditchwater at about 100 members of a church last week and threatened to kill its pastor. Police looked on as the mob attacked the Philadelphia Batak Christian Protestant Church worshipping on the street in Bekasi, near Jakarta in West Java Province, on Thursday (May 17), church attorney Saor Siagian told Compass by phone. The mob, which included the chairman of the Bekasi chapter of the extremist Islamic Defenders Front, began to throw urine, ditchwater, rotten eggs, stones and dirt when Pastor Palti Panjaitan came to address the congregation. The church had to disperse, Siagian said. Pastor Panjaitan told local media he received a death threat and has filed a police complaint. Authorities had asked the church, part of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan denomination and located in Jejalen Raya village, to worship at a site about six miles from church land, Siagian said. The church applied for a permit to construct its house of worship five years ago as mandated by law. The local administration asked it to shut down in December 2009. The Supreme Court overruled the administration’s decision in July last year, saying the church was eligible for a permit, but due to pressure from Islamist groups, Bekasi officials insist the congregation meet elsewhere.

 

Read more...

Egypt's elections to result in Sharia Law?

Mission Network News: "Egypt (MNN) ― For what many say is the first time in history, Egyptians are heading to the polls today and tomorrow for a truly democratic presidential election.

It's been over a year since the nation ousted Hosni Mubarak from presidency. In the time the nation has gone without a definite ruler, poverty has increased from 42% to 47%, and Egyptians are growing increasingly restless. Now all presidential candidates promise a better Egypt."

Read more...

Pakistani Christian Accused of ‘Blasphemy’ after Billiards Dispute

Pakistani Christian Accused of ‘Blasphemy’ after Billiards Dispute:

LAHORE, Pakistan, May 22 (Compass Direct News) – Police in Pakistan have charged a young Christian man with “blasphemy” after he had an argument with Muslims over a billiards game in Punjab Province’s Sheikhupura district, his cousin said. Farooqabad Police arrested Sajid Inayat, 20, on Friday (May 18) and charged him with desecrating the Quran under the country’s controversial blasphemy laws after area young men accused him of setting on fire “holy pages” placed in a box on an electricity pole, Irfan Manzoor said. Inayat was charged under Section 295-B, which makes willful desecration of the Quran or use of an extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment. Manzoor told Compass by telephone that his cousin had been falsely accused because he had had an argument with some local Muslim boys over a billiards game just two days before the alleged incident. Sheikhupura District Police Officer Haider Ashraf said that authorities had sent Inayat to jail on judicial remand. Ashraf said the matter was serious and that police were investigating from all angles.

Read more...