“We don’t know specifically what the charges are against them. We believe that it is for sharing the gospel,” says Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs. 

“The trial had been set for August the 13th [2024]. To our knowledge, the trial has not happened, but there hasn’t been any kind of an announcement of ‘it’s been delayed until X day.’” 

Libya has had two rival governments for the past 10 years. You can imagine how this undermines judicial process and constitutional rights for its 2% Christian population. 

Libya is ranked number 3 on Open Doors’ World Watch List. (More on that here.)

“There’s a couple different options that they could be facing. One [charge could be] for their own leaving Islam, or the other option [could be] for encouraging other people to leave Islam. Frankly, it could be both,” Nettleton says.

(Image courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs)

“[It] would probably not be a charge like ‘evangelism.’ It would probably be a charge like ‘the corrupting the society’ or ‘corrupting the morals of another person.’” 

Nettleton says that under Libya’s penal code, conversion and evangelism can receive the death penalty. 

“I’m very curious to know what’s happening behind the scenes that this trial has been delayed yet again. Maybe there’s pressure from outside to release these people, to not have a trial,” he says.

Find your place in this story with Hebrews 13:3, which calls believers to remember imprisoned and mistreated fellow Christians.

“It would be very easy [for Christians in Libya] to think, ‘I need to be quiet,’ or ‘I need to stop gathering with other believers,’ or even ‘I need to flee the country.’ All of those are sort of logical responses to this,” Nettleton says. 

“But we want to pray against discouragement and against intimidation, for not only the six who are on trial, but for all of our brothers and sisters in Libya during this time.” 

Header photo is a representative stock photo courtesy of Ehsan Habashi/Unsplash.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) updated its Blasphemy Legislation Factsheet last week. It shows 95 countries now impose fines, imprisonment, or even the death sentence to punish religious blasphemy – up from 84 in 2020. That’s a 13% increase in three years.

Bruce Allen with FMI says their ministry often sees how blasphemy laws are used to promote state-sanctioned targeting of minority Christians.

Christians in Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of FMI)

“Christians are targeted for blasphemy accusations even when they have not perpetrated any blasphemy. But because these laws exist in the book, they’ll use it indiscriminately even when there’s no evidence of blasphemy.”

Allen adds, “Another point that the fact sheet makes is that blasphemy laws encourage individuals and non-state actors to seek retribution against alleged blasphemers.

“Many times, the person who is accused of blasphemy doesn’t even stand a chance to have their day in court. They’re killed in the street outside their home the day [or] the day after the blasphemy charge is even leveled. It’s a vigilante mob violence mentality.”

FMI saw this most recently in the case of a 6-year-old Christian boy in Pakistan who was violently attacked by his Muslim teacher and hospitalized for alleged blasphemy.

Please pray for blasphemy laws to be repealed and for oppressors to have their eyes opened to Jesus Christ.

Allen says, “We want to keep this beleaguered, oppressed Christian community in prayer. Lift them up and say, ‘Lord, may they be walking in the power of your Spirit to follow your instructions because we can’t do that left to our own devices.’”

Learn more at FMI’s website about how the ministry is supporting persecuted minority Christians.

Header photo of architecture in Turkiye, one of the 95 countries with blasphemy laws on the books. (Photo courtesy of Ali Arif Soydas/Unsplash)

Iran charged 16 people with espionage on Monday, including several teenagers, because they participated in widespread protests in November. A 15-year-old girl and eight women are among those waiting to learn their fate. Meanwhile, two older teens received death sentences from a court in northern Iran.

Young people began organizing demonstrations in mid-October. They found workarounds to Iran’s internet blocks and used popular social media platforms to mobilize “neighborhood-centered” protests. Iranian authorities told Al-Monitor last fall that the average age of an arrested protestor was 15 years old.

(Photo courtesy of Closeup Foundation via Heart4Iran)

Although Tehran demonstrations have quieted since November, Heart4Iran’s Nazanin Baghestani says public rage simmers just below the surface.

“The more they (the government) kill, the more people protest. Many of those youth are so angry at the government. They don’t want to sit at home and do nothing,” Baghestani says.

“They’re screaming [from their windows at night]; people are so [en]raged and so upset.”

New data from Iran’s National Organization for Civil Registration suggests security forces killed more protestors than human rights groups previously estimated. The number of registered deaths in Iran between October 23 to November 21 rose by 5,000 compared to the previous month’s toll.

The European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States rolled out new sanctions this week, hoping to increase political pressure on Iran. However, “I don’t think the government will quiet down. They’re going to raid more houses; they’re going to hang more people,” Baghestani says.

“The regime has to collapse, and it’s going to happen sooner or later – six months [or a] year. We pray it doesn’t [take] that long because the killing will increase.”

We cannot change Iran’s leaders. But we know the One who holds our world in His hands. “Ask God to intervene and bring an end to this chaos,” Baghestani requests.

“It’s heartbreaking to see all these young girls and boys getting killed.”

Help Heart4Iran reach Iran for Christ here.

Header and story images courtesy of Heart4Iran.

In 2017, courts sentenced Bhatti to life in prison. But earlier this month, a judge appealed to a 1991 law prescribing the death penalty for those who blaspheme Muhammad.

A flimsy case

However, Nehemiah with FMI says the case against him doesn’t hold up. “In July 2012, a local Islamic leader filed a complaint in Rawalpindi, saying he had sent messages from an unregistered phone number insulting the Prophet Muhammad’s mother. They tortured him to extract a confession but he insisted on his innocence. No forensic evidence exists for any blasphemy by Bhatti. In fact, every piece of physical and electronic evidence suggests he is innocent.”

Before his arrest, Bhatti led a small ministry, serving those in deep poverty and praying with people in their homes. But these actions caught the attention of local Muslim leaders.

Pray for Bhatti

Bhatti has suffered terrible mistreatment while in prison. Nehemiah says, “Zafar experienced pressure from other Muslim prisoners to convert to Islam and has been beaten several times. On March 31^st, 2013, his food was poisoned, which caused bleeding from the nose and mouth. It left him in a critical condition for days.”

Pray for Bhatti, his wife, and his extended community. Nehemiah says, “Pray he would experience a deep peace and joy that comes from knowing Jesus as well as the courage and power that comes from the Holy Spirit.”

Pray also for FMI partners who are serving across Pakistan. Ask God to strengthen them with His love.

The header photo shows Rawalpindi, Pakistan, the city in which Bhatti was arrested. (Photo courtesy of Idontknow1213, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Todd Nettleton, spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs USA, says the silence might not be a bad thing.

“Sometimes, for the sake of justice and for the sake of the judge being free to make the right decision without pressure, it’s better if a case is sort of ‘under the radar’ of the international community,” he explains.

“The world will say, ‘hey, you can’t sentence a Christian to prison just for being a Christian.’ But within his country, devout Muslims will say, ‘you have to sentence this person who has left Islam, you have to sentence this apostate.’ It’s hard to know if this is one of those situations [because] we don’t know a lot of details.”

What happened?

Brother A stands accused of converting Muslims to Christianity. He was cleared of previous theft charges in April.

“Our friends at Middle East Concern have been covering this case, but they aren’t releasing a lot of details,” Nettleton says.

“He has been flogged, he has been locked in prison, so he has already faced a great deal of pressure and persecution. And now, potentially, he’s on the cusp of being sent back to prison.”

Brother A’s family is in danger, too.

“His wife has been pressured to divorce him. Her family has taken her, at different points, away from Brother A. There is a prayer request for her and their son because what happens to Brother A will have a direct impact on them,” Nettleton says.

Muslims in a mosque in Saudi Arabia.
(Photo courtesy of Pixabay)

Understanding the severity of Brother A’s case requires context, he continues. “There are a couple of significant things to understand,” Nettleton says.

“First, he’s not a foreigner living in Saudi Arabia; he is an Arab, and he has lived in Saudi Arabia his whole life. Saudi Arabia recognizes the right for Saudi Arabs only to be Sunni Muslim; there’s no option of being a Christian [or] a Shia [Muslim]. If you are a Saudi Arab, you’re supposed to be a Sunni Muslim.”

Secondly, Nettleton continues, “he was instrumental in his sister coming to faith in Christ as well, and Brother A has faced pressure from the extended family.”

How can we help?

Ask the Lord to comfort Brother A, give him peace, and protect his family. Pray Brother A will not receive the death penalty and that the Lord will also spare him from a severe prison sentence.

“It is not clear in the reporting exactly what the sentence is. It doesn’t at this point mention the death penalty, but at the very least, he is facing a long prison sentence,” Nettleton says.

“There are many within Islam who would say, ‘Someone who has left Islam is an apostate. They should be given the opportunity to return to Islam, and if they choose not to, they should be executed.’”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Bill Oxford/Unsplash.

(Photo courtesy of the World Watch Monitor)

The Voice of the Martyrs, USA’s Todd Nettleton says a verdict will hopefully be given for the others by Monday, though Middle East Concern and World Watch Monitor say the verdict could be announced as early as Sunday. There’s no telling if it’ll be freedom or life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

Another Sudanese pastor who was jailed with the other three was recently released – and Nettleton says it could be a good sign for this upcoming verdict.

“There was a fourth man who was on trial, another Sudanese pastor, he was released and in fact the judge said of these charges, ‘There’s no evidence against you. You can go home.’ That’s obviously our hope for the other three as well.”

While a verdict is expected, there’s also the possibility that it could be delayed again since that’s happened several times before.

“There have been numerous times where a hearing has been postponed — a lawyer couldn’t make it, a judge couldn’t make it on some occasions, there hasn’t been electricity at the courthouse so they’ve delayed…. You can imagine how frustrating that must be for these three men who are in prison waiting for this process to come to an end, as well as for their families who are certainly worried about them and concerned for their safety. So hopefully there will be a verdict soon and hopefully it will be positive, hopefully it will be the release of the three men just as we saw the release of the other pastor earlier.”

(Sudan map courtesy of Wikipedia/CC)

You may remember all of this started in December 2015 when Petr Jasek traveled to Sudan to visit a national Christian who was injured in an attack. When Jasek was headed back out of the country, he was stopped at the airport, several of his personal effects were confiscated, and he was arrested along with other pastors he had been in contact with.

So how did it escalate so quickly from a Christian aid worker visiting an injured believer… to he and three other pastors being arrested, and most of them still facing possible life imprisonment or the death penalty?

Nettleton says, “I think this is what, in America, we might call prosecutorial overreach. They simply went with the most serious possible charges they could come up with. But the evidence in the case has been very spotty, they haven’t shown any kind of a conspiracy to harm the Sudanese government or to overthrow the Sudanese government. So charging someone with espionage or trying to overthrow the government, there just is no evidence that that actually took place. Hopefully when we hear these verdicts, that’s what the judge will say too.”

When it comes to implications for the Sudanese Church, Nettleton shares, “I think what it says is the government is very anxious to control the Church. They are watching what the Church does, they are watching particularly those who would be in contact with outsiders, and they want to bring that to a close. I think that’s one of the significant messages of these charges in this trial process.”

In the next few days leading up to a possible verdict, please commit to urgent prayer for these three men.

“We need to pray that God will sustain them and encourage them, and pray that they’ll have opportunities to witness. Sometimes God has used Christians in prison before — even if you go back to Paul and Silas in the New Testament — to lead people who otherwise would not hear of Jesus Christ. So I think we can pray for these who are in prison awaiting their verdict that they’ll have opportunities to witness — maybe it’s to other prisoners, maybe it’s to prison guards, maybe it’s to the judge or to lawyers or to government officials — but we believe God has a purpose for this and so we can pray that His purpose will be fulfilled.”

Nettleton adds, “We also want to pray for the broader Church in Sudan. You know, we have seen this trial go on. A year or so ago there were two other pastors ethnically from South Sudan who were on trial in Sudan. Before that, there was the case against Meriam Ibrahim in Sudan. So this is very much a pattern of persecution that our Christian brothers and sisters in Sudan are facing.”

Click here to get more prayer updates on the persecuted Church with Voice of the Martyrs.

Kelly Gissendaner
(Photo courtesy of Crossroad Bible Institute)

USA (CBI) — Crossroad Bible Institute requests urgent prayer for Crossroad graduate Kelly Gissendaner. Kelly has been sentenced to death by the state of Georgia, but her execution has been postponed twice.

Now Christians around the country are praying for a miracle and seeking a way to keep her off death row for good, and faith leaders such as Desmond Tutu and Shane Claiborne have signed a petition requesting clemency. Kelly’s story is one of redemption, and she is living proof that not all “jailhouse religion” is insincere or superficial.

Kelly was sentenced to death in 1998 for persuading her boyfriend to murder her husband. Kelly’s boyfriend, who committed the murder, took a plea bargain and is serving a life sentence with eligibility for parole. Kelly did not accept a plea bargain, because her lawyer did not believe that the jury would sentence her to death.

Kelly Gissendaner was a Crossroad student from 2007 to 2010, and her Instructors commented on her good work ethic and spiritual growth. On February 27, 2015, the New York Times wrote an article about her spiritual transformation and theological studies.

Kelly’s growth in theological knowledge was outpaced only by her personal transformation. According to Pastor Dottie Benson, Kelly entered prison a bitter woman, but she is now a mentor and mother figure to many inmates there. Prisoners tell stories of “Mama Kelly” talking them out of suicide, encouraging them to behave well in prison and helping them meet their goals.

Kelly, a living witness to a living Savior, says of her spiritual journey, “I have learned first-hand that no one, not even me, is beyond redemption through God’s grace and mercy.”

Kelly’s appeal to the Supreme Court was denied on October 6, 2014, and Georgia’s parole board denied her clemency petition on February 24, 2015. The Department of Corrections has yet to announce the new date of her execution.

Dr. David Schuringa, president of Crossroad Bible Institute, stands alongside the thousands of petitioners and many faith leaders calling for clemency.

“Please join Crossroad in praying for Kelly, who is a living testament to the transforming power of God’s grace,” says Schuringa. “May the Lord work a miracle and find a way to save Kelly’s life. And may He bring her, her family, and the family of her husband peace.”

Pakistan Supreme Court
(Photo courtesy Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

Pakistan (VCM/MNN) — Voice of the Martyrs Canada says the appeal hearing for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman imprisoned for blasphemy, has been postponed, but no new date has been set.

She was arrested in 2009 on charges of insulting Mohammed and was later sentenced to death. Since then, she has been waiting for her appeal to be heard while being held in isolation at the women’s prison in Sheikhupura (Punjab).

The case has received worldwide attention. Various petitions, including one that received 400,000 signatures, were organized to protest Asia’s imprisonment, and Pope Benedict XVI publicly called for the charges against her to be dismissed.

Initially scheduled for March 17, Asia’s first hearing was cancelled due to the absence of one of the two presiding judges. Under Pakistani law, two judges have to be present in death penalty cases for the entire trial.

Asia Bibi’s family
(Photo courtesy Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for the Voice of the Martyrs USA said, “There is word that she continues to be held in prison,” he noted in an earlier interview with OneNewsNow. “She continues to pray. She continues to read the Scriptures. Last summer, she was moved to a prison that was much further away from her family–from her husband and her daughters. That has been a very significant challenge to her because it makes it much harder for them to come and visit.”

The high-profile case remains hugely controversial in Pakistan. The former Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, was killed by his bodyguard in January of 2011 after showing support for Asia.

Then two months later, Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, was assassinated after voicing support for Asia and demanding reform of the country’s blasphemy laws. Shahbaz’s brother is now facing death threats. Late last year, Pakistan’s Federal Sharia Court demanded that blasphemy should carry a mandatory death sentence.

Asia Bibi’s husband
(Photo courtesy Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

After this disappointing setback, pray that the Lord will continue to sustain Asia and her loved ones as they await the appeal hearing. Pray that the judges and other authorities will pursue justice and that they will be protected from those who wish them harm as a result.

Ask God to use this case for His good purposes, transforming the hearts and lives of those who do not yet know Him and encouraging believers to be courageous in their faith.

Kimberly McCarthy graduated from CBI’s discipleship program in 2006. (Image courtesy CBI)

Kimberly McCarthy, 52, was a 2006 graduate of Crossroad Bible Institute. In 1997, she was convicted of murdering her neighbor, retired professor Dorothy Booth. According to the state of Texas, a confrontation developed when McCarthy broke into Booth’s house with the intent of robbing her to pay for cocaine.

African Americans like McCarthy comprise 12-percent of the Texan population. However, they make up 37-percent of those executed in Texas since the Supreme Court lifted a moratorium on capital punishment in 1976.

In addition, 60-percent of women executed in Texas have been African American. Of the 283 people currently on death row in the state, 39-percent are African American.

“Unless someone is going to have the audacity to say that African Americans are morally inferior or something, it’s obviously an injustice,” says CBI President Dr. David Schuringa.

“Yes, Kimberly, under the influence of drugs, committed some horrific crimes. But if a white person who does those things is not subject to the death penalty, then she shouldn’t be either.”

McCarthy’s execution is particularly sad for the CBI community.

“Her instructor spoke very highly of her and her work, and so it saddens us because we feel like we’re losing a member of the family, you know?” says Schuringa.

How should Christians address the death penalty in light of the Gospel and Christ’s redemptive work on the cross?

“It doesn’t really matter if you’re for or against it; people have strong arguments either way. But if it’s not being administered justly, then we need to declare a moratorium on it and stop the executions,” Schuringa states.

“A lot of time as Christians, we’re concerned only about changing the hearts of sinful people. And that’s very important, but also, there are sinful systems in place that were created by sinful hearts.”

Schuringa suggests three responses for the Body of Christ: pray, learn, and speak.

“If the people of God are in prayer, if they’re getting educated and studying the issues, and where possible, take action, we could see some change,” he says.

Click here to learn more about the issue on CBI’s website.

Texas leads the United States in capital punishment executions. Since 1976, over 1,300 people have been executed and more than a third were in Texas. The Lonestar state executed more people last year than it sentenced to death.

Pray for justice in the United States’ legal system, and ask God to comfort the family members of death row inmates.

Kimberly McCarthy, 52, was a 2006 graduate of Crossroad Bible Institute. In 1997, she was convicted of murdering her neighbor, retired professor Dorothy Booth. According to the state of Texas, a confrontation developed when McCarthy broke into Booth's house with the intent of robbing her to pay for cocaine.

McCarthy's execution is particularly sad for the CBI community.

"Her instructor spoke very highly of her and her work, and so it saddens us because we feel like we're losing a member of the family, you know?" says Schuringa.

How should Christians address the death penalty in light of the Gospel and Christ's redemptive work on the cross?

"It doesn't really matter if you're for or against it; people have strong arguments either way. But if it's not being administered justly, then we need to declare a moratorium on it and stop the executions," Schuringa states.

"A lot of time, as Christians, we're concerned only about changing the hearts of sinful people. And that's very important, but also, there are sinful systems in place that were created by sinful hearts."

Schuringa suggests three responses for the Body of Christ: pray, learn, and speak.

"If the people of God are in prayer, if they're getting educated and studying the issues, and where possible, take action, we could see some change," he says.

Click here to learn more about the issue on CBI's Web site.

Texas leads the United States in capital punishment executions. Since 1976, over 1,300 people have been executed, and more than a third were in Texas. The Lonestar state executed more people last year than it sentenced to death.

Pray for justice in the United States legal system, and ask God to comfort the family members of death row inmates.