Palestine: Pastor released on bail
Palestinian Christians are grateful that pastor Johnny Shahwan has been released on bail from a Bethlehem prison. Pastor Johnny was arrested and detained on 3 March after unintentionally hosting the Jewish right-wing nationalist activist and former Knesset member...
Algeria. Another church ordered to close
Christians in Algeria request prayer for another church in Bejaia city, as the authorities’ campaign to close churches and prosecute individual Christians appears to be escalating. The church of “Aouchiche” was informed on 6 April of a 21 March administrative closure...
Libya: Court verdict evicts congregation
Christians in Libya request continued prayer for the Union Church in Tripoli. After a 15 February court hearing, the subsequent verdict ordered their eviction from their current premises. The Union Church, established by expatriate Christians in 1962, is one of five...
Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Convert found murdered
Church leaders in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq request prayer after the murder of a convert. On 7 March, a few weeks after she had announced her conversion to Christianity on her social media account, a woman was found dead. She had been preparing to be baptized....
Iran: Nine converts acquitted by Appeal Court
Today (28 February) a verdict was issued by Branch 34 of Tehran's Appeal Court overturning the convictions of nine Christian converts from Rasht. The nine - Abdolreza (Matthias) Haghnejad, Khalil Daeghanpour, Hossein Kadivar, Kamal Naamanian, Mohammad Vafadar,...
Iran: Judge pressured to deliver hasty verdict
Iranian Christians request prayer for Christian converts Ayoub Poor-Rezazade, Morteza Mashhoodkari and Ahmad Sarparast, who are awaiting a verdict after being charged for “deviant propaganda” under Article 500 of the Penal Code. Ayoub, Morteza and Ahmad were initially...
Iran: Christian converts face new charges
Friends of Babak Hosseinzadeh and Behnam Akhlaghi request prayer after they were summoned by a prosecutor in Tehran to face charges of “propaganda against the state.” Babak and Behnam were among nine Christian converts from Rasht arrested early in 2019 and charged...
Algeria: Another church closure threatened
Christians in Algeria request prayer for church leaders in Ait Atteli, a village in Tizi Ouzou, the province in which most Algerian Christians live, as officials have started proceedings to close their church. The provincial governor filed a case on 2 February against...
Iran: Court to review convert’s 10-year prison sentence
Iranian Christians are thankful that Christian convert Naser Navard Goltapeh’s prison sentence will be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Naser, along with three Azerbaijani Christians, was arrested in June 2016 at a private celebration in Tehran. In May 2017, the four...
Iran: Christians released early from prison
Iranian Christians are thankful that Sasan Khosravi and Habib Heydari have been released early from Bushehr Central Prison. Habib and Sasan were arrested with others (mainly family members) in Bushehr in south Iran on 1 July 2019. In June 2020, seven of those arrested...
Iran: Released pastor rearrested on old charges
Iranian Christians request prayer for pastor Abdolreza (Matthias) Haghnejad and his family after he was rearrested to serve a sentence that had been overturned in 2014. Matthias was released from Anzali Prison near Rasht on 30 December after the Iranian Supreme Court...
Libya: Authorities act against Christmas celebrations
Christians in Libya request prayer due to continued anti-Christian actions on part of the authorities. At the end of December, the ministry of interior issued a warning to citizens "not to celebrate Christmas on New Year’s eve,“ which apparently the authorities think...