Compass Direct News News of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith
India: Deaths Mount as Violence Spreads in Orissa Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 NEW DELHI, August 26 (Compass Direct News) - At least 18 people are confirmed dead in more than 90 incidents of violence against Christians since suspected Maoists murdered Hindu leader Swamiji Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others on Saturday (Aug. 23) in Orissa state. With Hindu extremists inciting hatred by heated accusations that Christians killed Saraswati, the national newspaper Hindu reported today that nine people had been killed in Orissa violence, and a Compass source near the state capital of Bhubaneswar confirmed an additional nine people slain. Hindu extremists today killed pastor Samuel Naik of the Bakingia Seventh-Day Adventist Church at Kandhamal, and Jacob Digal and Gopan Naik of Damba village were slain this morning. Also killed today was Golok Naik of Pidinanju village, and yesterday pastor Mukunda Bardhan from Mukundapur, Gajapati was burned to death. Three other people whose names have not yet been verified, said the source, were killed in Katingia village of G. Udaygiri, along with a pastor belonging to Operation Mobilization from the same area. In Badimunda, nearly 25 Christian homes were burned down. There were many reports of Christians being pulled from their homes and killed or beaten, with many homes of Christians torched in Baliguda. Orissa Police Chief Gopal Chandra Nanda downplayed the violence, telling Reuters that incidents were only "sporadic" and that "some prayer houses have been attacked and vehicles have been burnt."
India: Christians Attacked after Hindu Leader Killed Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 NEW DELHI, August 25 (Compass Direct News) - The killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) leader Swamiji Laxmanananda Saraswati and four associates by suspected Maoists on Saturday night (August 23) led to renewed anti-Christian attacks in Orissa state, with churches torched and two people burned alive. Accusing local Christians of killing their leader, Hindu extremists set an orphanage on fire in Khuntapali village in Barhgarh district, burning a Catholic nun to death, according to the All India Christian Council. The attack on the orphanage in Khuntapali, 250 miles west of the state capital of Bhubaneswar, also left a priest at the orphanage hospitalized with severe burns. Over the weekend VHP extremists in Nuagon, Kandhamal district also burned alive a man suffering from paralysis, whose identity and religious affiliation were still unknown at press time, and assaulted pastors. The Hindu extremists launched arson attacks on at least 10 churches, several prayer houses, shops and vehicles in various parts of the eastern state. Numerous Christians have fled to jungles to save their lives. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, a partner in the state's ruling coalition led by the Biju Janata Dal party, and the VHP called for a 12-hour strike in which inflammatory speeches were made accusing Christians of killing Saraswati.
Turkey: Malatya Murders Linked to Political Conspiracy Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 MALATYA, Turkey, August 22 (Compass Direct News) - The five young Turkish men accused of torturing and killing three Christians in Malatya last year may have been incited by members of a vast political conspiracy allegedly responsible for multiple murders in recent years. The 10th hearing on the murder of three Christians at a publishing house in southeast Turkey 16 months ago took place yesterday (Aug. 21) at the Malatya Third Criminal Court. Plaintiff attorneys requested the case be integrated with an investigation into Ergenekon, an ultranationalist cabal of retired generals, politicians, journalists and mafia members under investigation for conspiracy in various murders. In January police uncovered and started arresting members of Ergenekon. A criminal investigation has linked them to high-profile attacks, murders and plans to engineer domestic chaos and ultimately overthrow the government. Two Turkish Christians, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, and a German, Tilmann Geske, were brutally tortured and killed on April 18, 2007 in the southeastern city of Malatya. Evidence suggests Emre Gunaydin, the suspected ringleader of the murderers, was in contact with at least two people connected to Ergenekon: a retired brigadier general and a journalist. The latter, Varol Bulent Aral, told Gunaydin he saw a connection between missionaries and the Kurdistan Worker's Party terrorist organization.
Malaysia: Government Issues Demand to Catholic Newspaper Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, August 21 (Compass Direct News) - The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a warning to a Catholic weekly demanding an explanation for articles that did not "focus" on religion and for a report that allegedly degraded Islam entitled, "America and Jihad - where do they stand?" Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, revealed on August 10 that the ministry had issued the "show-cause" letter accusing the newspaper of breaking publication rules on July 16. The ministry's letter reportedly warned that it "would not hesitate to take sterner action" if the Herald repeats its alleged offenses. According to The Associated Press, an unnamed ministry official on August 11 said the Herald must explain satisfactorily why it ran the articles and pledge to stick by the rules or risk suspension. Fr. Andrew told Compass the letter did not specify exactly what the "sterner actions" would be. Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, chairman of the Christian Federation of Malaysia, said in an August 15 statement that the letters were "unjustified and an infringement of the right to circulate news within one's own religious community - a right guaranteed under our Federal Constitution."
China: Religious Freedoms Threatened as Olympics Draw to Close Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 DUBLIN, August 20 (Compass Direct News) - As the Olympics draw to a close, new evidence of religious freedom abuses offers a stark contrast to China's efforts to provide religious services for athletes and visitors during the Games. China hired religious clerics to provide these services and published a special bilingual edition of the Bible for distribution to athletes and official churches during the event. Simultaneously, officials asked house church leaders in Beijing to sign documents agreeing not to hold services during the Games, the China Aid Association (CAA) reported on August 13. More ominously, China has planned a new crackdown on four "troublesome elements," including house church leaders, for October, when most Olympic athletes, tourists and journalists will have left the country, CAA reported on Monday (August 18).
Pakistan: Custody Case Could Go to Supreme Court Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 ISTANBUL, August 20 (Compass Direct News) - A custody battle in Pakistan over two Christian girls kidnapped and allegedly forced to convert to Islam remained inconclusive after a hearing today, with rights advocates for the family suspecting Muslim fundamentalists of pressuring the minors and a medical board. Judge Malek Saeed Ejaz of the Lahore High Court's Multan Branch set the next hearing for Sept. 9. Lawyers for the Masih family said that if the girls are not returned to their parents at the next hearing they will appeal to the Pakistani Supreme Court. Until then, Aneela and Saba Masih, 10 and 13 respectively, will remain at Multan's Dar Ul Rahman women's shelter. Islamic jurisprudence and Pakistani law do not recognize the forced marriages of minors. The judge's decision to extend the case was based on Saba Masih's testimony that she is 17 and on a Lahore medical board's ruling that she is between 15 and 17. Muslim fundamentalists, however, may have pressured the medical board, lawyers said. Rights advocates said the girls themselves may have come under pressure while at the women's shelter. Rashid Rehman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said, "They are giving them misinformation regarding their parents, saying, ëIf you return to your parents, they will kill you.'"
Indonesia: Muslim Mob Storms Church, Calls for Ban Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 JAKARTA, August 19 (Compass Direct News) - On Sunday (August 17) a Muslim mob stormed a church service in Cipayung, East Jakarta, forcing Christians to flee and then erecting banners in the street declaring a ban on "churches and religious services." As about 20 church members were celebrating the nation's Independence Day at the service, the angry assailants arrived at the Pentecostal Church of Indonesia in Pondok Rangon village, Cipayung, at 9:30 a.m. shouting "Allahu Akbar!" or "God is greater!" Some in the mob were neighbors, but the majority were not local residents, according to pastor Chris Ambessa. Local officials made no effort to intervene or prohibit the illegal banners. Ambessa has been in the middle of a dispute over his house church. Previously Cipayung officials had ordered him to dismantle the second floor of his home, and on July 13 it ordered him to cease religious activity for an indefinite period following neighborhood protests against his house church. Neighbors had demanded that Ambessa completely demolish the building.
India: Hindu Extremists Suspected in Murder of Priest Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 NEW DELHI, August 19 (Compass Direct News) - Christian leaders in Andhra Pradesh suspect the grisly murder of a Catholic priest was the work of Hindu extremists and that police have prematurely ruled out that possibility. The battered body of Father Thomas Pandipally was found lying on a roadside in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh early on Sunday (August 17). The 38-year-old priest from the Carmelite of Mary Immaculate (CMI) order was killed while traveling by motorbike in Nizamabad district on Saturday night (August 16). Nizamabad Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar told Compass that the murder had no religious motive, but the Rev. Father Alex Thannippara, a provincial superior of the CMI order, said he was in "complete disagreement." He pointed out that on January 16 a mob of 500 people led by Hindu extremists prevented the Hyderabad archbishop from blessing the new building of an HIV/AIDS care center, and two years ago the school where the slain priest worked was also targeted. "A huge crowd led by [Hindu extremist] RSS supporters gathered around the school and tried to parade the then-principal naked under flimsy pretexts, but the police protected him," Fr. Thannippara said. Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a strange trend of brutal and mysterious murders of Christian workers in the past eight years.
Bangladesh: DNA Indicates Assault on Pastor's Daughter Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0200 DHAKA, Bangladesh, August 18 (Compass Direct News) - Following a dubious forensics test indicating no evidence of sexual assault, a second DNA test links one of five men accused of gang-raping a village pastor's daughter to sperm found on her clothing. Pastor Motilal Das of Laksmipur village says he found his 13-year-old daughter lying unconscious in front of his house early in the morning of May 2 after five men from Mymensingh district raped her. Villagers were upset at his evangelistic efforts and had raped his daughter, according to the pastor, in an effort to drive him from the area. DNA profiling expert Ahmed Ferdous of the National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory of Dhaka Medical College Hospital told Compass the results of the second test have been sent to police and court officials. "The profile matched in the test and the DNA report turned out positive, which apparently shows that the girl was raped or sexually assaulted," Ferdous said. Villagers in Laksmipur, in Fulbaria sub-district 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital, believe relatives of the accused men paid off the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital Forensic Department, which conducted the first test, to conclude that there were no signs of sexual assault.
