Iranian authorities attack Christmas gathering, arrest two Christians

Karaj, Iran Photo from M@mad

Fifteen security police and undercover plain-clothes officers attacked a Christmas gathering of more than 70 newly converted Christians in the city of Karaj, Iran on December 17. Officers photographed and videotaped the believers and also confiscated Bibles, Christian books and a computer. The Christians were told they must be available during the period leading up to formal and legal interrogations and that they must appear before legal prosecutors when ordered. Two of the leaders of the group, Kambiz Saghaee and Ali Keshvar-Doost, were arrested. At last report, they remained in detention at an undisclosed location and their families had neither been able to contact them nor received confirmed information from police about their whereabouts. (Source: Farsi Christian News Network)

Pray for the release of Kambiz Saghaee and Ali Keshvar-Doost. Pray that the new converts who attended this meeting will grow stronger in their faith in Christ. Pray for safety for Iranian believers celebrating the birth of Jesus as many must gather in secret to avoid attention from authorities.

For more information on the plight of Iranian Christians, go to the Iran Country Report.

Update: Fushan church leaders sentenced to prison in China

Pastors Wang Xiaoguang and Yang Rongli conducting a baptism service Photo from ChinaAid

Five leaders of the Fushan house church, who have been held in detention since their unwarranted arrests on September 25 (click here for more details), were sentenced to prison on November 25 following a 12 hour trial. At the trial, the pastors -- Yang Rongli, Wang Xiaoguang, Yang Xuan, Cui Jiaxing, and Zhang Huamei -- were only allowed to have four of their family members in attendance and their lawyers were only able to review 50 of the 1,000 pages of "evidence materials" in preparation for their defense. Yang Rongli was sentenced to seven years of detention for "illegally occupying farming land" and "disturbing transportation order by gathering masses." Wang Xiaoguang, Yang Xuan, and Cui Jiaxing were each given prison sentences ranging three to four years for "illegally occupying farming land" and Zhang Huamei was sentenced to four years for "disturbing transportation order by gathering masses." Yang Rongli and Wang Xiaoguang have led the Fushan church, which is part of a 50,000 member house church network in the area, for more than 30 years.

On November 30, five more church leaders were handed two-year sentences of re-education through labour. The five -- Li Shuangping, Yang Hongzhen, Yang Caizhen, Gao Qin, and Zhao Guoai -- were charged with "gathering people to disturb the public order" after they organized a 1,000-believer prayer rally following an attack by over 400 military police on their church in September. Yang Caizhen, who is the wife of imprisoned church leader Yang Xuan, had one of her teeth knocked out during severe interrogations and is in frail condition. (Source: ChinaAid)

Ask God to sustain these brothers and sisters and their families through this difficult time. Pray that these charges will be dropped and the leaders will be released. Ask God to encourage the members of this church to continue to worship and serve Him.

You can also partner with this church by contributing to VOMC's Legal Defense Fund. This fund specifically helps finance legal representation to prisoners of faith, enabling them to receive a better chance for a fair trial or a reduced sentence. Lawyers frequently have special access to the prisoner as well -- a privilege often denied to the prisoner's closest family members. They are able to bring essential food and clothing and news of the arrested back to concerned family members. To serve in this vital way, click here.

For more information on how Christians suffer persecution in China, check out the China Country Report.

Chinese Officials Kidnap Protesting Church Leaders

ASSIST News Service reports that nine Fushan Church leaders were kidnapped on Sept. 25 by Chinese Shanxi Province Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers. The men were traveling to Beijing to petition the central government for justice concerning the local authorities' brutal attack on Sept. 13. According to ChinaAid, the leaders were illegally seized without warrant, and have not been heard from since Friday night. "After the arrests, local authorities forcibly confiscated all computers, TVs and other church-owned valuables, calling them 'illegal materials.' Remaining church leaders and active members were placed under house arrest and are now under constant surveillance," a ChinaAid news release reported. State police also blocked church members from gathering for worship inside the main Fushan Church in Linfen city.