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Laos
Map reflects the 30 most recent Persecution Reports. Click HERE for the Map Legend.
Monday, April 8th, 2013
As one of the last five remaining Communist nations on earth Laos has a record for discriminating against and persecuting Christians. ICC was glad to hear today that three pastors arrested more than two months ago for "spreading the Christian religion" have been released. Their arrest and brutal treatment by authorities for simply making copies of Christian DVD's is evidence of how little Laos respects basic religious freedoms.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
In this brief report, a Christian rights group in Laos reports that a couple in their fifties were denied the right to return home after traveling to a nearby village and accepting Jesus as their Savior. The couple had heard a report of healing and went to a nearby village to seek prayer. When their village chief learned of this he issued an eviction order and the couple was told to go live in a village with Christians, as no Christians would be welcome in their old town.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 7th, 2013
In a report published this morning by Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom it was revealed that three pastors in Savannakhet province were arrested on Tuesday after being discovered making copies of Christian CD’s. Local authorities have yet to release the three pastors despite not having the legal authority to detain them. Christians in Laos continue to face regular persecution at the hands of hostile Communist officials.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 14th, 2013
The Communist government of Laos has long tolerated and even condoned the harassment and arrest of Christians throughout the country. Mr. Boontheong was threatened and imprisoned for his Christian before he and his wife and son went missing in 2004. One Christians organization, CSW, has just written President Choummaly Sayasone asking for him to investigate their disappearance.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | 2 Comments »
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
With scant means of communication, Christians in villages of Laos are rarely able to tell the world about the pressures they go through because of their faith. Ruling communists, who maintain a monopoly of political power but with a sense of vulnerability, view Christian growth as a threat to their regime, and seek to force believers to return to traditional faiths.
Posted in Countries, ICC News, Laos, News | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2012
Laos is one of the five remaining Communist nations on earth and Christians still face regular persecution for their faith. Most of it takes place in rural areas, far from the eyes of the international media. ICC is working with local organizations to bring aid to Christian Lao families that have faced everything from social discrimination to arrest to pressure to convert back to their animist beliefs.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | 2 Comments »
Sunday, November 18th, 2012
Laos, one of the five remaining Communist nations on earth, continues to actively work at curtailing the growth of Christianity. Local officials are often able to openly persecute Christians by confiscating their church buildings, publicly denouncing them, and even arresting them on trumped up charges. Earlier this summer government officials in one province made sure a group of about 180 Christians starving from famine weren't receiving any food aid from outside as a way to pressure the group to renounce Christianity. ICC donors funded the purchase and delivery of almost 6000 pounds of rice to rescue the Christian community from severe hunger.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 29th, 2012
After refusing to participate in occult rituals declaring their adherence to traditional beliefs, the homes of about 50 Christians in Laos have been threatened to be destroyed by local authorities and village chiefs, Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom reports.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Saturday, October 27th, 2012
Although three Lao Christians were reportedly released from prison after authorities could find no justification to keep them behind bars, family members say the men never arrived home. “They were actually returned to the Phin district prison and continue to be subjected to hardship, harassment and threats until now. Phin district authorities are reportedly seeking more evidence to charge them,” Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Friday, October 26th, 2012
31 Christian families were commanded to perform spirit occult rituals and declare that they adhere to the traditional religion. “Christians were required to sign documents as a proof that they have resubmitted themselves to the spirits through the ceremony and have renounced Christ,” Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom reports. If the Christians refuse, they will be forced to leave their village.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2012
Tribal leaders are trying to force animism on three Protestant clergymen in Laos. According to this report, the Christians were imprisoned but authorities failed to convict them last month on “vague and unfounded” charges. “[The authorities] agreed with village chiefs to subject the pastors traditional animistic rituals and practices in order to have them renege their faith,” Asia News reports.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Monday, October 22nd, 2012
Three jailed Christians in Laos are being pressured by their village chief to participate in occult rituals and recant their faith in Jesus, BosNewsLife reports. "Christians were required to sign documents as a proof that they have resubmitted themselves to the spirits through the ceremony and have renounced Christ," read a statement from Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom. The Christians have been imprisoned since September 17 in the Savannakhet province.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Sunday, September 23rd, 2012
Police in Laos have arrested three pastors in Savannakhet Province, putting one of them in stocks after his arrest. They then questioned the pastors’ wives, asking them “Why do you believe in the Christian faith?” The pastors are suffering physically and two are seriously ill. Their families are asking that they be treated in a nearby hospital. In June, ICC sent a delivery of rice to over 100 Lao Christians who were starving from famine and were refused help by the local government because of their faith in Christ.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Friday, September 21st, 2012
This brief report covers the story of a 24-year old Pastor found covered in blood in the jungle by his church members, who believe it was probably foul play. Laos is overtly Communist and scattered reports suggest that local authorities have been taking part in a wave of repression against Christian believers. Several arrests of pastors and Christian leaders have taken place in the last few months and believers have been put into stocks. Some Christians have also been threatened with expulsion from their village if they refuse to recant Christianity.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 28th, 2012
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that cases of persecution against Lao Christians have steadily increased across the country in 2012. In the first six months of 2012 ICC reported on fifteen separate incidents of Christian persecution in Laos, the same amount reported in all of 2011.
Posted in Asia, Countries, ICC News, Laos, News | 1 Comment »
Monday, August 27th, 2012
Four Christians have been released in Laos after spending six weeks in jail without charges for holding a Bible study.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 21st, 2012
"His problems all began when, through his witness, at least 300 other villagers decided to embrace the Christian faith."
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
"God is real. When we believe, we are healed from sickness and immediately delivered from the possession of evil spirits." He further stated: "We cannot deny the reality of God's power." The village authorities replied: "Our village does not allow any other religions to be practiced here other than our Lao religions." Lao religions are Buddhism, Brahmanism, and spirit worship.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | 1 Comment »
Monday, July 2nd, 2012
Christian Solidarity Worldwide has expressed concerned in what it sees as a "pattern" of religious persecution in Laos. For the past few months intermittent reports of arrests, church closures, and discrimination against Christians have been emerging from the country.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Monday, June 25th, 2012
The Lao authorities have not allowed any contact with those four Christians. All personal belongings, including money, phones and personal possessions, were confiscated. Now family members are gathering resources in order to care for the four prisoners. Since Lao prisons do not provide adequate care, it is up to family members to provide food.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | 2 Comments »
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
Their dismissal from security service came as a consequence of their decision to accept the Christian faith. Although Kahmsorn and Tonglai have faithfully served to protect the Lao nation and the people who reside in their village, they are now being punished and dishonored due to their religious affiliation.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | 1 Comment »
Sunday, June 10th, 2012
“Police in northern Laos have detained a pastor ‘for attracting people to the Christian faith’ as part of a wider crackdown on evangelism in the region,” BosNewsLife reports.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Saturday, June 2nd, 2012
"She threw their belongings out of the house and told them to leave. The two siblings immediately moved to a Christian village where they originally heard the gospel, where they were welcomed with open arms."
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
This article covers two stories of persecution: one of a new convert facing expultion from his village and the other of ten families facing persecution for converting with out permission.
Posted in Countries, Laos, News | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
"With this incident, the official crackdown on Lao churches in Savannakhet province that had started almost eight months ago in Dongpaiwan village in Saybuli district on September 14, 2011 has now spread to Phin district of Savannakhet," HRWLRF said.
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | 2 Comments »
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
"Members of Khamnonsung Church continue to resist the official order to close down their church and are willing to risk their own safety as well as the safety of their families in order to defend religious freedom."
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
In a series of crackdowns, Lao authorities have been raiding and barring church services from taking place in Savannakhet Province. In this case, the Pastor was detained and threatened until he agreed to sign a document promising to discontinue holding church services.
Tags:religious freedom Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
Monday, April 9th, 2012
"...the officials declared that Westerners, particularly those from the United States, were using the Christian faith to destabilize the government. They then declared that the 745 Christians in the village could only meet in private homes, claiming that they did not have permission to construct the Khamnonsung church building – although it was erected in 1963, prior to the 1975 Communist takeover of Laos."
Posted in Asia, Countries, Laos, News | No Comments »
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