Recent Incidents of Persecution

Karnataka, India, January 7 (CDN) — Police led by Hindu extremists accused a pastor without basis of forceful conversion, reprimanded him for praying without government permission and stopped the Sunday worship of his India People Ministry church on Dec. 27 in Koppa. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that police further warned Pastor D.M. Kumar that he would be arrested if he conducted future worship services.

Karnataka – Members of the Hindu extremist Bajrang Dal accused Christian nurses at Pandapura government hospital of forceful conversion for conducting a small Christmas program on Dec. 25 in Mandhya. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that at about 2 p.m., Sophia Parinamala Rani and two others identified only as Philomina and Bajamma organized a small, customary Christmas meeting for staff members and patients, inviting a guest to speak about Christ. Some 20 Hindu extremists reached the hospital and, manhandling the speaker, accused the nurses of forceful conversion. Pandapura police forcefully obtained an apology letter from the nurses, who received a show-cause notice ordering them to explain the meeting to hospital authorities.

Andhra Pradesh – A Hindu extremist roughed up two Christians at a worship meeting on Dec. 23 in Mahabubnagar. The All India Christian Council reported that a pastor identified only as Prabudas and a doctor identified only as Nehemiah were on their way to a service when a Hindu hardliner and karate master, Satya Narayana, pushed and punched them, threatening to file a case of forceful conversion against them. He threatened them with more violence if they continued Christian activities in the area. Local Christian leaders were taking steps to protect the two men at press time.

New Delhi – Hindu extremists assaulted Christians attending a Christmas program of the Full Gospel Church of God on Dec. 22 at Nagafgarh. A source reported that the Hindu hardliners threatened pastors Benny Stephen, K. Cherian and Stephen Joseph, claiming that the program they were attending aimed to convert people by force, and then attacked them. Pastor Joseph suffered injuries to his left leg and back, Pastor Benny to his back and face and Pastor Cherian to his head. Pastor Joseph told Compass that no police complaint was filed as the Christians forgave the attackers.

Tamil Nadu – Hindu extremists attacked a group of Christians on Dec. 20 in Mangalam, Nagercoil. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that Hindu extremists objected to a digital sign Christians put up stating details of an impending Christmas celebration and warned them to remove it. When the Christians refused, the extremists beat them, and some of them received hospital treatment for their injuries. A police complaint was filed, but no arrests had been made at press time. 

Andhra Pradesh – Police arrested Pastor P. Benjamin after a Hindu extremist filed a complaint against him of forceful conversion on Dec. 20 in Hyderabad. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that Pastor Benjamin, of Holy Spirit Church, spoke of Christ with about 200 children at a Christmas program organized by a nearby area’s Christian youth leader. As Pastor Benjamin reached his home, local Christian leaders informed him that police had filed charges of forcible conversion against him under Section 295/A of the Indian Penal Code. Applications for bail were twice rejected. Area Christian leaders were taking an appeal to a higher court, and the pastor’s family was relocated as a security precaution.

Maharashtra – Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal on Dec. 20 attacked members of Christian ministry Operation Mobilization in Manchar and took their film equipment. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that about 100 extremists attacked the organization’s screening of a Christian film, organized by the area pastor with the permission of the village head. As the movie ended, the Hindu hardliners rushed in, verbally abused the Christians for their faith and took a film projector and DVD player. Moses Vatipalli of the AICC told Compass that area leaders of Hindu extremist groups were planning to meet with Christian leaders to settle the matter.

Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists in Karimnagar on Dec. 15 beat 65-year-old Pastor S. Devavaram and other Christians, accusing them of forceful conversion. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that Pastor Devavaram and five youths were distributing Christmas literature after obtaining permission from the deputy superintendent of police. At about 9 a.m. a mob of 20 Hindu extremists stopped their vehicle, dragged the pastor out and accused him of forceful conversion. They beat the pastor, tied his hands and locked him and the other Christians in a room till 5 p.m. On learning that the pastor and the other five had been abducted, 10 Christians reported it to police. Officers arrived at the site of the assault and took the Christians to the police station, where the extremists filed a complaint of forcible conversion against the pastor and his team. Police took written statements from the Christians and released them without charges at 6 p.m.

EGYPT: STABBING, BOMBING ATTACKS STRIKE NEAR TWO CHURCHES

Copt leaving sanctuary knifed in Minya; bomb explodes near venerable structure in Cairo.

ISTANBUL, May 22 (Compass Direct News) – In separate attacks in Egypt earlier this month, a Coptic Christian suffered severe stab wounds as he left a worship service in Minya, and a car-bombing outside a venerable church in Cairo disrupted a wedding.

Without provocation, three Muslims repeatedly stabbed Coptic Christian Girgis Yousry, 21, as the army conscript was leaving the gates of the church of Saint Mary in Minya, Upper Egypt on May 2, according to Copts United.

The assault left him with severe injuries to internal organs, and he was taken to the district hospital, where he was still receiving treatment at press time.

When Yousry’s father went to the police station to report the attack, the Intelligence Services officer in charge threw him out of the station. Three men implicated in the stabbing, Wael Mohammed Hagag, Mohammed Nasr Anwar and Shabaan Sayed Amin, were arrested on May 5 and have been given a 16-day initial incarceration while the investigation is underway.

All three men stand accused of attempted murder without premeditation, which carries a sentence of five to 15 years.

But Mamdouh Nakhla, president of the Al-Kalema Centre for Human Rights, said he thinks it unlikely that they will be convicted.

“From my experience over the last 15 years, in Minya in particular, all cases of attacks and murder against Christians either went without punishment and [the accused] were totally exonerated, or they were given suspended sentences,” he said.

Home to Egypt’s largest community of Copts (approximately 4 million), Minya is considered a hotbed of anti-Christian violence.

“I am aware of severe injustices happening to Christians who are being incarcerated for no reason,” said Nakhla. “This is my experience of Minya.”

Local sources told Compass that in the last few months there has been a wave of arrests of Christians who are held with no official charges. Sources spoke of cases where detainees are held for months in prison, where they are badly beaten and tortured.

“Police brutality is a widely practiced policy,” said one source, “especially in rural areas, group punishment and systematic intimidation and humiliation are expected practices against all citizens, Christians included.”

This month Compass learned of three illegal arrests of Christians that have taken place since November 2008. Two of the men who were detained have since been released.

“When people are released, they have been beaten and electrocuted so that they are hardly standing up,” said a local Christian.

Local church leaders believe recent pressure is a response to rumors of an increase in Christian converts in Egypt due to Christian satellite programming, although arrests go beyond converts to Coptic-born Christians.

Makeshift Bomb

In Cairo, a makeshift bomb placed under a car exploded outside a renowned Catholic church building in Zeitoun district on May 9, incinerating the vehicle but causing no injuries.

Panicked passersby called police when the small explosion caused the car to burst into flames outside Saint Mary Church, which Egypt’s Coptic community, citing numerous sightings of the Virgin Mary there in the late 1960s, considers a holy site.

Security forces arrived at the scene within minutes and sealed off the area. They found a second bomb, also planted beneath a car. Unable to disarm it, they were forced to detonate it in a controlled fashion, sources told Compass.

The explosion interrupted a wedding and a Bible study that were taking place inside the revered, historic building. Those in attendance were evacuated through a side gate as a precaution, reported Egyptian newspaper Watani. Boutros Gayed, the church’s priest, was unavailable for comment.

The bombs were rudimentary. Cell phones were used as detonators and placed with the explosive material into a bag containing shrapnel.

Police have yet to release information about possible suspects or motives, but newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm has stated security forces are investigating possible links to a Hezbollah cell, which uses similar explosive devices.

A spokesman for Hezbollah has denied its involvement, stating that the cell was focused on supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and has never had plans to carry out operations in Egypt.

The head of the Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda, condemned the attack as criminal and pointed to sectarian motives.

“[The bombers] are attempting to tamper with the future of this homeland that they do not deserve to belong to,” he said, according to Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram.

Similarities between this event and an explosion in February outside Al-Hussain Mosque, where one person was killed and 24 others wounded, have led to speculation that the attacks may be part of an attempt to inflame sectarian tensions.

Rumors also have been spread that “extremist Coptic groups” may have planted the devices in order to attract U.S. President Barack Obama’s attention to their plight on his planned June 4 visit to Cairo.

“This sounds like a ridiculous suggestion, because the Copts do not even respond to attacks against them,” said Ibrahim Habib, chairman of United Copts of Great Britain. “It is not in their agenda, and they have no precedence of violence.”

Report from Compass Direct News