Laos

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.

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.     

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Four Christians have been released in Laos after spending six weeks in jail without charges for holding a Bible study.

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.