SAUDI ARABIA RELEASES FIVE CHRISTIAN PRISONERS

ONE IMPRISONED, ONE FINED, SIX MORE TO FOLLOW

CHRISTIAN AID SPONSORS HISTORIC MISSIONS CONFERENCE FOR NATIVE MINISTRY LEADERS

CHRISTIAN CONVERT RELEASED FROM MENTAL HOSPITAL

BOLIVIA’S UNREST INTERFERES WITH MINISTRY

Today’s Top Stories:

SAUDI ARABIA RELEASES FIVE CHRISTIAN PRISONERS

Five East Africans arrested on April 29 for leading a private Christian worship service in Riyadh have been released and allowed to return to their jobs in the Saudi Arabian capital. Three weeks after their May 30 release, the three Ethiopians and two Eritreans have been given no indication that they will lose their jobs or be subjected to deportation as a result of their detention. “It’s a miracle. It’s not normal here for them to be released like this and allowed to go back to their jobs,” a friend of the men told Compass on Monday, June 20. “They didn’t have to notify their sponsors or anything, and they are all back at work.” The men were interrogated extensively, but were not physically mistreated. Within the past two months, at least three groups of expatriate Christians meeting privately for worship in Riyadh have been raided and their leaders put under arrest for several days or weeks. Under the rule of strict Islamic law, Saudi Arabia prohibits the public practice of any religion other than Islam within its borders. (Compass Direct)

ONE IMPRISONED, ONE FINED, SIX MORE TO FOLLOW

Nail of the embattled Bethany Protestant Church in the capital city of Uzbekistan was sentenced to 15 days in prison on June 10 for “illegally” teaching his faith. Kalinkin’s wife, Marina, was fined 68 US$, sources have told Forum 18 News Service. After the church’s service was raided by police on June 12, six others, including the pastor Nikolai Shevchenko, face administrative charges of breaking the country’s religion law by leading an unregistered religious community. The church – located in a city district where mosques are also banned – has repeatedly tried but failed to register. Its latest challenge through the courts was again postponed on June 17. Leaders of another Protestant church in Tashkent have been interrogated and threatened since mid-May, with 18 armed riot police raiding the home of one church leader. In Angren near Tashkent, the leader of a registered Pentecostal church was fined 39 US$. (Forum 18)

CHRISTIAN AID SPONSORS HISTORIC MISSIONS CONFERENCE FOR NATIVE MINISTRY LEADERS

Native missionaries working in some of the world’s most difficult missions fields were brought together recently at a conference sponsored by Christian Aid. This was the first gathering of its kind for leaders of indigenous ministries in North Africa. For most, the conference was their first opportunity to meet with fellow native missionaries on such a large scale. Christian Aid covered travel costs for more than 30 leaders who attended, risking much in their journeys. The conference lasted for eight days and consisted of teaching sessions and fellowship time. Attendees reportedly left refreshed, strengthened and ready to face the innumerable challenges of their native lands. (Missions Insider)

CHRISTIAN CONVERT RELEASED FROM MENTAL HOSPITAL

Five months after he was forcibly committed to a mental hospital for converting from Islam to Christianity, Gasir Mohammed Mahmoud has been discharged from his locked psychiatric ward in Cairo and set free. Mahmoud was released June 9 from Cairo’s El-Khanka Hospital for Mental and Neurological Health, where two police officers from his home city of Suez had institutionalized him last January. Mahmoud, now 31, told Compass last week that the doctor who discharged him called his adoptive mother and asked her to come and collect him from the hospital. “But she told me not to return to Suez,” Mahmoud said, warning him that he would face problems there, both from his father and the state security police. (Compass Direct)

BOLIVIA’S UNREST INTERFERES WITH MINISTRY

Bolivia’s acting president, sworn in last week, has asked lawmakers to resign in order to avoid more protests in the run up to parliament elections. Former President Carlos Mesa resigned amid violent protests demanding a new constitution, the nationalization of the oil and gas industry, and the resignation of all legislators. The demonstrators gave a truce to the acting president, but warned protests and roadblocks would be resumed if their demands were not met. The unrest has taken its toll over the last few weeks. Among those affected, due to the blockades and strikes, Grace Ministries International has been forced to cancel a Women’s Conference in the capital city. (Mission Network News)