CHRISTIAN GIRL KIDNAPPED IN PAKISTAN
Islamabad: Sajida Masih, the mother of a 12-year-old Christian girl who was kidnapped in the village of Hanif Kot, Gujranwala district and forced to marry a 37-year-old Muslim man, is embroiled in a legal battle to recover her daughter, according to reports.

On February 23, 2009 Muhammad Imran abducted Huma Masih after threatening to kill her, her aunt and her parents. Sajida was ridiculed by police when she sought their help. After three days, officers finally filed the report but listed Huma's age as 16, the legal age for girls in Pakistan to marry.

Imran subsequently demanded nullification of the report, claiming Huma converted to Islam and married him of her own will. He also submitted a fake birth certificate which listed her age as 18. Local Muslims have since tried to extort money and labour from Sajida in exchange for information on Huma's whereabouts.

PASTORS FINED IN KAZAKHSTAN
Almaty: It has been reported that pastors are facing pressure, fines, and arrests in Kazakhstan.

On June 8, 2009 Pastor Vasily Kliver was sentenced to five days in prison for "failure to carry out court decisions" after he refused to pay a fine for leading an unregistered congregation in the city of Aktobe.

Prior to his sentencing, court officials searched Pastor Kliver's home for valuables to confiscate as payment for the fine. At last report, Pastor Kliver's wife, Maria, did not know where her husband was being detained.

In another incident, Pastor Maksim Tashenov was fined on June 9 for participating in religious activity in a different region from where his own church in the city of Aktau is registered.

Pastor Tashenov was visiting a church in the southern Kyzylorda Region in March when officials barged in, brought him to a police station and held him for several hours. He has been fined 12,000 Kazakh tenge and his church has been banned for three months.

REPRESSIVE RELIGION LAW AND NEW PENALTIES IN AZERBAIJAN
Baku: On May 31, 2009 a new Religion Law in Azerbaijan came into effect along with amendments to both the Criminal and Administrative Codes, according to reports.

Under the new law, all religious organizations which have currently managed to obtain state registration will have to re-register by January 1, 2010. Many religious organizations fear they will fail to maintain their legal status.

Producing, importing, circulating or selling religious literature without required permission from the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations is now considered an "offence." It is also now an offence to conduct religious activity at a different location from where one's religious community is registered or to be involved in religious activity not specifically listed in the organization's statute.

PASTOR BANNED FROM CHURCH IN TIANJIN PROVINCE, CHINA
Beijing: On May 16, 2009 the Office for Religious Affairs in Jinghai county, Tianjin province, China issued a notice abolishing the Immanuel Church and banning Pastor Han Changxu from serving there.

Pastor Han, an ethnic Korean and native of Heilongjiang province, has been serving in the church since 2004. During the 2008 Olympics, authorities in Tianjin placed Pastor Han under surveillance when they discovered he had contacts with missionaries from South Korea.

Authorities have also tried to prevent him from maintaining contact with churches in South Korea.

PASTOR ARRESTED IN PAKISTAN FOR USING LOUD SPEAKER
Islamabad: Nine pastors from two neighboring villages in Pakistan could face prison time for using loudspeakers to broadcast prayers and sermons from their churches on Easter Sunday.

Martinpur and Youngsnabad, 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Lahore, are majority Christian villages. The nine pastors who lead congregations there say that local Muslim security forces have twisted the law to solicit a bribe.

Police arrested and detained Hafeez Gill, Fahim John, Maksud Ulkaq, and a catechist from the Catholic Church in Youngsnabad identified only as Saqab at 10 a.m. on May 16, 2009, While en route to the police station, the officers told them they would be released if they offered a bribe, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).

The pastors refused and were detained, but following a public outcry from their parishioners they were released at 2:30 p.m. Reports indicate the arrest was premed-itated. A leader in the village council invited the pastors to his house for a meeting, but when they arrived in the morning local police were waiting for them.

They were taken to the police station, where Station House Officer Mirza Latif showed them two First Instance Reports (FIR) registered on May 11 claiming they had misused their speakers. The FIRs, however, state the pastors misused the speakers on Easter Sunday, which happened nearly a month earlier. Police claimed that the church leaders had used their loudspeakers to amplify messages defaming Islam.

The church loudspeakers broadcasted the church prayers and sermon for villagers unable to attend the service, as is custom in some Christian villages. Pakistani law limits the use of loudspeakers in Christian worship services to a specific time allotment (and usually to villages and towns with a small Muslim population), but these restrictions were not enforced in the almost-entirely Christian villages of Youngsnabad and Martinpur.

Some rights groups worry that the harassment of Pakistani Christians in villages such as Martinpur and Youngsnabad could mean deteriorating conditions for religious minorities in areas once considered secure.

CLAAS reported that vandals completely ransacked a church in Bannu Cantt, in the North West Frontier Province, on May 12, 2009. They destroyed the altar, burned Bibles, and broke pews. Although the city is located in a province that borders Afghanistan, where Taliban rebels have been active, it was thought to be a relatively secure area, according to the report.

Pakistan remains in turmoil as the military moves into Swat Valley to uproot the Taliban, which has established Islamic law (sharia) in the embattled area. An estimated 2 million Pakistanis have become refugees by fleeing the area after a government evacuation order.

PASTOR ACCUSED FOR HOLDING HOME BIBLE STUDY
A San Diego pastor is fighting a citation from the San Diego County that requires him to obtain a permit to host weekly Bible studies at his home.

Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary have been hosting a Bible Study fellowship at their home every Tuesday for the past five years. The meeting, averaging 15 people each week, is usually comprised of dinner, fellowship and Bible study.

The meetings have gone without government interference until recently. Jones told KGTV, an ABC News affiliate in San Diego, that the visitor to a neighbor's house alerted the County after a Bible study member hit the visitor's car while leaving.

In April, a County employee visited the Jones' residence and informed the couple that they were not allowed to hold "religious assembles" in their home unless they obtained a major use permit. The employee warned that the couple would face fines upwards of $1,000 if they failed to comply with the County's order.

The County later sent the Joneses a written warning ordering them to "cease/stop religious assembly on parcel or obtain major use permit."

News of the County's order has reignited debate over the interpretation of the First Amendment. The Joneses and their attorney of The Western Center for Law and Policy, based in Escondido, Calif, said the couple's rights to hold the Bible studies are protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The Administration Citation and Cease and Desist Order violate the "Jones' right to assemble peaceably and privately in their home for the purpose of religious worship," stated WCLP president Dean R. Broyles in a letter sent on behalf of the Joneses to the County Tuesday.

The letter alleges the County is discriminating against religious activity because it doesn't require a permit for secular assemblies such as cub scout meetings, friends gathering each week to watch sports on TV, book clubs, sewing clubs, or poker nights in residential zones.

Donald Wildmon, chairman of the American Family Association, defended the Bible study meeting, urging supporters to sign a petition to the San Diego County Board that calls the County's actions "antiChristian."

"I am upset that you would shut down a home Bible study of 15 people and yet allow similar secular events," reads the petition. "Your actions appear to have an anti-Christian slant and should cease immediately.”

PASTOR ATTACKED, ARRESTED ON FALSE CHARGES
New Delhi , June 7, 2009: A pastor was waylaid and attacked by a group of miscreants in Mangalagiri, Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh. He was then handed over to police custody with trumped up charges of engaging in “forced” conversion.

The incident happened on Saturday (6 May) morning around 8.30. Pastor David Raju from Hyderabad went for a Christian meeting having been invited by one of his churches in Mangalagiri in Guntur district. At his arrival, a group numbering 20 people apparently belonging to a Hindu fanatic group, beat Pastor David severely. Later the attackers accused him for attempting to convert local people forcibly. He remained in police custody until the fact finding team of All India Christian Council intervened and secured his release at around 2.30 pm.

The fact finding team was led by Guntur district AICC leaders Mr. Timothy, Mr. Ravi Prakash, Mr. Boaz and other state leaders. With the help of the local political leaders, the matter was resolved and the pastor was allowed to carry on with his meeting in the church that invited him.

In the past week, 20 Christian students were attacked by Hindu fanatics in Hanwada village of Mahaboobnagar district in Andhra Pradesh. According to sources, members of Hindu fanatic groups attacked the students while they were distributing Christian literature. One vehicle with few students managed to run away from the village when the fanatics attacked. The remaining one vehicle along with 13 students was handed over to local police station. The fanatics warned the students to stop any Christian propaganda. They were later released from police custody.

The local AICC leaders feel that Hindu fanatics keep trying to turn Andhra Pradesh into another Gujarat or Khandamal by attacking on Christian minorities in the state. This state has been facing the attack on Christian minorities for last many years.

CHRISTIAN COUPLE ARRESTED FOR BOOKLET IN SINGAPORE
Singapore: A Christian Singaporean couple were found guilty of sedition on may 28, 2009 for distributing evangelical publications that cast Islam in a negative light, court officials said.

Ong Kian Cheong and his wife Dorothy Chan had been charged with distributing a seditious publication to two Muslims in October and March 2007 and sending a second such booklet to another Muslim in December that same year, a district court official told.

The publications were found to have promoted feelings of ill-will and hostility between Christians and Muslims, the Straits Times said on its website. A hearing was set for June 4 for mitigation pleas and sentencing.

The sedition charge carries a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,437 US) or both.

Singapore, a multi-racial island nation, clamps down hard on anyone seen to be inciting communal tensions. In 2005, two ethnic Chinese men were jailed for anti-Muslim blogs.

The following year, a Singaporean blogger received a stern warning after posting cartoons mocking Jesus Christ on his online journal.

Ethnic Chinese make up a majority of the city-state's resident population but there are significant numbers of Malay Muslims, ethnic Indians and other groups.

PASTOR ATTACKED IN TAMIL NADU
Chennai: At approximately 10:00 a.m. on June 8, 2009 Pastor Paul Chinnaswamy (50) was attacked by two suspected Hindu militants while he was sitting in front of his church in Krishnagiri district.

The men approached the pastor on bikes and attacked him, kicking him in the chest and punching him in the jaw so hard his teeth were broken.

When villagers noticed the scene, they approached the assailants who then fled. Pastor Chinnaswamy has reportedly been assaulted and threatened several times in recent years.

CHURCH CLOSED DOWN IN KARNATAKA
Bangalore: On June 7, 2009 a group of police officers and Hindu militants disrupted a worship service being held in the newly built Indian Apostolic church building in Chennagiri village, Davanagere district.

The police claimed that the church was opened with an illegal license. The pastor explained that he had already obtained the necessary permission from authorities but was told that no churches were allowed in the village since they were engaged in "conversion activities." All of the church members were sent away and the building was locked up.