DEATH OF ADOPTED RUSSIAN GIRL CAUSES CONCERN

COURT PROCEEDINGS CONTINUE FOR INDONESIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS

FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES OF PERSECUTION REMAIN IN VIETNAM

VOICE OF THE MARTYRS REPORTS INCREASING PERSECUTION IN SRI LANKA

LAO CHRISTIAN LEADERS SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON

Today’s Top Stories:

DEATH OF ADOPTED RUSSIAN GIRL CAUSES CONCERN The death of a 3-year-old girl adopted from Irkutsk, Russia is the latest instance in an alarming series of parental abuse cases against adopted children from Russia. The girl, Nina Victoria Hilt, was adopted by an American family from the state of North Carolina and the girl’s mother was charged last week with 2nd degree murder in Nina’s death. Since 1996, at least 12 Russian children have died at the hands of their abusive parents. These cases have been widely covered throughout Russia and the latest case has Russian officials so concerned that they’re demanding a complete investigation. Many adoption agencies are wondering what the future holds for Russian adoptions. Buckner Orphan Care International is an accredited adoption agency working in Russia. Bucker’s Tiffany Taylor says, “We are just really prayerful that the Russian government knows that the majority of children that are adopted into homes here in America are loved and cherished by their families.” Many involved in international adoptions are concerned that Russian adoptions will end or be curtailed. Taylor says, “As a Christian agency our goal is to place children into loving Christian homes where they’re going to grow up and learn about their heavenly father and develop a relationship with Jesus and it would be just a tragedy for adoptions to stop for that very reason.” It is reported that there are more than 700,000 orphans in Russia. Taylor says adoption revenue helps fund many orphanages within the country. (Mission Network News)

COURT PROCEEDINGS CONTINUE FOR INDONESIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS Court proceedings involving three Indonesian Christian women arrested under “Child Protection” laws for using so-called deception to entice Indonesian youngsters to convert to Christianity continued last week. According to a news release from International Christian Concern (ICC), an organization that helps those persecuted for their faith, the children denied being given money to convert to Christianity. It was also made clear, ICC reported, that each Muslim child who attended the Sunday school classes had their parents’ permission, and when the three Christian women took the children on field trips, the children were accompanied by their Muslim parents. These court proceedings were a result of legislation that targets religious minorities in the once tolerant nation of Indonesia. As the proceedings were about to begin, a group of radical Islamists went to the courthouse and gathered outside. When the three women arrived for their trial, ICC reported that police officers had to hold back the mob from attacking the women, as they shouted “Allahu akbar! (God is great!) Dr. Rebekah is evil, hang them…Shoot her!” The parents were not the ones bringing the charges in the case, ICC reported. It was the Muslim principal of the local elementary school, Ali Nurdin. He reportedly brought the charges after he heard his students singing Christian songs while walking the hallways of school. (ASSIST News)

FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES OF PERSECUTION REMAIN IN VIETNAM Despite three new legal documents on religion since last November, government harassment of religious communities has not eased. Prison sentences of Mennonite pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and a colleague were confirmed in April, while Hmong Protestants in the north-west were beaten by local officials and had their properties confiscated in May. Numerous Protestant churches remain outlawed. A comparison of the situation five years ago and today shows no change in the fundamental causes of persecution: the restrictions on unregistered religious activity, the interference in the activity of registered religious communities and the lack of a transparent line of command from the central government to local officials which allows local violations to continue. If religious freedom is to improve, these three causes of persecution will be crucial benchmarks of change. (Forum 18)

VOICE OF THE MARTYRS REPORTS INCREASING PERSECUTION IN SRI LANKA A spokesman for the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) says persecution of Christians continues to be on the increase in Sri Lanka. Recently, an Assembly of God church in the Sri Lankan town of Ambalangoda was attacked by a crowd of more than 100 people. The church was vandalized and two parishioners, along with the pastor, were severely beaten. Police believe a group of Buddhist monks is responsible for the attack in Ambalangoda, but Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs, an international ministry to the persecuted Church, says such incidents are increasingly common in this part of the world. “This is just one of many attacks in the nation of Sri Lanka in the past few months and in the past few years,” Nettleton notes. “The reports are that in the last two years, at least 170 churches have been attacked, and 140 churches have been closed down due to this type of violent attack.” The VOM spokesman says a proposed anti-conversion law in Sri Lanka could mean even more persecution for Christians there. The law against inducing anyone to convert to another religion was proposed last year; however, many uncertainties remain about how the legislation should be interpreted. Nettleton says it is not clear at present when Sri Lanka’s Parliament may vote on the anti-conversion legislation. (Religion Today/AgapePress)

LAO CHRISTIAN LEADERS SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON Two Lao Christians arrested in March under the charge of “possessing illegal weapons,” Mr. Khamchan, 59, and Mr. Vangthong, 31, have been sentenced to three years in prison. According to Christian Aid’s contact in Laos, “Christians commonly have been charged with social crimes, such as possession of weapons, in order to divert the real issues behind arrests and imprisonment.” Such seems to be the case with Khamchan and Vangthong. Despite a confession by the owner of the weapons used to accuse the two men, Christian Aid’s contact says that “officials refused to listen because they desire to keep Khamchan and Vangthong in prison.” The men were arrested in late March along with at least 16 other Christians from Phin district, Savannakhet province, in southern Laos. It is thought that Mr. Khamchan may have been targeted because he had been a village chief and member of the local communist party in Phin district before he became a Christian. When he confessed his faith in Christ one year ago, he was fired from communist party leadership. Khamchan and Vangthong are believed to have been in Muang Phin district prison since their arrests in March. All other Christians imprisoned at the same time as the two men appear to have been released. (Missions Insider)