JARANWALA, Pakistan (BP)—An outlawed Islamist group has been charged with inciting destructive riots in Pakistan after two Christian brothers were accused of blasphemy there.

Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan clerics shouted inflammatory slogans from mosque loudspeakers after the brothers were accused of defacing a Quran, Reuters reported Aug. 21, citing police and community members as sources.

Rioters burned 20 churches, vandalized 80 homes, burned belongings and desecrated a Christian cemetery, many news outlets reported. No deaths were reported.

“Better to die if you don’t care about Islam,” police quoted one cleric as saying, global news agency Agence France-Presse reported Aug. 19.

“That cleric should have understood that when you gather people in such a charged environment … in a country in which people were already very sensitive about (blasphemy) it is like adding fuel to fire,” the news agency quoted police.

“He’s not saying go and burn their houses. But when the mob gathers, it’s really impossible to control that.”

Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan clerics denied the accusations, police said, and joined peace efforts after the riot in attempts to dupe police.

Blasphemy accusations trigger riots

The Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan—with its rallying cry of “death to blasphemers”—focuses mainly on protecting Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws. The group has been active in electoral politics since the 2016 execution of Mumtaz Qadri, a police guard who received the death penalty for assassinating Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer in 2011. Taseer had sought to reform Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

While approximately 130 Muslims were arrested after the riots, the two Christian brothers were also arrested for blasphemy.

The case began after Muslims in Jaranwala accused 24-year-old Umar Saleem, known as Rocky, of tearing pages from the Quran and writing defamations on the pages in red, Morning Star News reported. Rocky’s brother Raja, 21, was also charged.

Reportedly, the defaced pages were found in the street with Rocky’s and Raja’s names, addresses and national identities attached. The two men, members of a Full Gospel Assemblies church, surrendered to police. Charges against them are punishable by life imprisonment and death.

A court ordered the two men be held in police custody seven days for questioning, Reuters reported Aug. 21. Their release date would be this week, but there are no reports of the charges being dropped.

False charges of blasphemy are a common method of persecution of Christians in Pakistan, but Pakistani officials acknowledged the mob attacks were a “planned conspiracy,” Morning Star reported.

Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi told Christian leaders the government would restore the churches and homes damaged or destroyed in the incident.

“Whatever damages took place, as a government, Muslims and humans, we will restore them,” Morning Starquoted Naqvi.

Another leader quoted in Morning Star News, Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, apologized for the violence and said he was committed to protecting “our Christian brothers.”

“We are ashamed,” he said.

The former president of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists—a critic of Russia’s war against Ukraine—recently fled his homeland when authorities pressed criminal charges against him.

Russian officials charged Yuri Sipko, a former vice president of the Baptist World Alliance, with slandering the Russian military and posting “fake news” online about Russian armed forces involved in the invasion of Ukraine.

“I am unquestionably innocent of the charges against me,” Sipko stated in an email to the Baptist Standard.

‘Speak the truth and call for peace’

Sipko, who served as pastor of churches in the Omsk and Tyumen regions before his retirement, asserts the criminal defamation charges are retaliation because he condemned Russian aggression against Ukraine.

“As a Christian, I cannot justify the aggressive military actions that the authorities of my country are waging,” he wrote. “Because I am a Christian, I must speak the truth and call for peace.

“The state conducts brutal repression against people who condemn the war, subjecting such people to persecution, condemning them to long prison terms.”

In late February, Sipko participated in an online prayer forum sponsored by Mission Eurasia marking the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

 “We continue to pray constantly for the Lord to stop this bloodbath. We pray for God to protect Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” Sipko said during the online event.

During the event, Sipko prayed: “We call upon you, the God of love, from this suffering earth. Lord, please stop this horrible, hateful operation. … With the hand of your angels, please stop the tanks, stop the rockets and cannons so that not a single more human life is being taken.”

Placed on ‘wanted list’

In his email to the Standard, Sipko stated he believes his posts on Facebook, in which he objected to the actions of Russian authorities and honestly answered questions, prompted officials to bring criminal charges against him.

When Sipko was charged with criminal defamation, he recognized it carried the presumption of guilt in the eyes of government authorities and the likelihood of a lengthy prison sentence and other mistreatment.

“I left Russia as soon as I was informed of the initiation of a criminal case and warned that the court had already issued a search warrant. Usually a search is accompanied by detention and arrest,” he wrote.

“Therefore, I chose to avoid violence and imprisonment, since the term on the charge can be set up to 10 years. Since I was not at home, I was put on the wanted list.”

He and his wife fled to an undisclosed location in another country.

“My apartment was searched in my absence. Searchers never state what they are looking for. They just turn everything upside down. If there are people in the apartment, they are laid on the floor, creating fear and horror,” he wrote.

Familiar with persecution

The criminal charges against Sipko mark his first experience with prosecution, but he is well acquainted with persecution.

“I have experienced persecution of varying degrees of severity all my life,” he wrote. “I was persecuted as a child. My father, a minister, was repressed and sentenced to 5 years of hard labor.”

Contrary to what government officials may say, “there is currently no religious freedom in Russia,” Sipko asserted. He cited restrictions on missionary activity, bans on meetings held outside of church buildings, and prohibitions placed on land acquisition and the construction of buildings for religious assemblies.

Pointing to increased promotion of the Russian Orthodox Church as the state church, Sipko also noted propaganda portrays Baptists as “a religious group alien and hostile to Russia.”

While Sipko and his wife live away from their homeland, the couple’s children and their families still live in Russia. They are maintaining some contact through email and social media.

“My wife and I are very concerned about their safety,” he wrote. “Being in exile, we can do nothing to help them. But we pray to the Lord and believe he will do everything for the good of us and our children.”

A United Nations report presents evidence the Burmese military and associated militia groups increasingly are committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Aug. 8 report from the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar to the U.N. Human Rights Council cites “strong evidence indicating that serious international crimes are being inflicted upon the people of Myanmar,” including mass executions, torture and the deliberate bombing of civilian targets, including houses of worship.

The report, which covers the period from the beginning of July 2022 to the end of June 2023, states, “The military continues to carry out widespread and systematic attacks on the civilian population, and the armed conflict substantially intensified during the reporting period.”

It notes “strong evidence”  the military forces have committed “with increasing frequency and brazenness” three types of combat-related war crimes:

• Indiscriminate or disproportionate targeting of civilians using bombs.
• Killing of civilians or combatants detained during operations.
• Large-scale and intentional burning of civilian dwellings and other civilian buildings.

“Every loss of life in Myanmar is tragic, but the devastation caused to whole communities through aerial bombardments and village burnings is particularly shocking,” said Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.

“Our evidence points to a dramatic increase in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country, with widespread and systematic attacks against civilians, and we are building case files that can be used by courts to hold individual perpetrators responsible.”

Broadened focus of inquiry

While the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar is focused particularly on crimes against the Rohingya people, it also gives special attention to crimes against children and sexual or gender-based crimes committed since the February 2021 military coup.

The report also points to “more and more evidence concerning torture, sexual violence and other forms of severe mistreatment at numerous detention facilities.”

Trent Martin, advocacy coordinator for 21Wilberforce, noted the Burmese military has targeted other ethnic and religious minorities, in addition to the Rohingya.

“While the crimes committed against the Muslim Rohingya have rightly been a focus of human rights investigations, the story of a brutal dictatorship trying to force others to adopt what it views as a superior ethnic and religious system is not only happening to the Rohingya,” Martin said.

“The atrocities of the military are being repeated towards many other ethnic groups in the country, such as the Chin, Karen, or Kachin. These groups’ resistance to assimilation by the Burmese majority and their large Christian populations put them at odds with the regime’s goal of repressive control.

“This full perspective is often lacking in the overall human rights narrative about Burma, and I am glad to see that this report is starting to take some initial steps to encourage a fuller investigation of the atrocities taken against these ethnic groups.”

Religious freedom violations reported

A report by the International Commission of Jurists, released in June, focused on violations of the right to freedom of religion and belief since the 2021 coup, including raids or attacks on houses of worship and the arrest of religious leaders.

Hkalam Samson, past president and former general secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention is among the religious leaders who remain imprisoned in Myanmar. He was taken into custody last December before he could board a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, for medical treatment.

Between February 2021 and April 2023, the commission noted news sources reported 190 religious or sacred sites were ransacked, destroyed or damaged as a result of arson, artillery fire and airstrikes. These included 95 Buddhist sites and 87 Christian religious buildings, including 35 churches in Chin State, 16 in Karenni State and 12 in Karen State.

The commission concluded “the military has violated the human rights of religious minorities and destroyed minority religious sites and places of worship in violation of international law and standards.”

At its 2022 general council meeting in Birmingham, Ala., the Baptist World Alliance adopted a resolution condemning the coup in Myanmar and the Burmese military for waging “a campaign of terror and violence, particularly against minority religions.”

Mervyn Thomas, founder of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, condemned “the brutal actions of Myanmar’s junta in the strongest terms.”

“There is overwhelming evidence coming in from reports on the ground that grave crimes are being perpetrated by the military against civilians. We call for the immediate cessation of violence and an end to the deliberate targeting of civilians and infrastructure, including hospitals and places of worship,” he said.

“We urge states to do more to stop the supply of arms and resources to the military, and for further targeted sanctions to prevent influential military personnel from continuing their brutal campaigns.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains references to sexual violence against women that may distress some readers. The Baptist World Alliance and Asia Pacific Baptist Federation are calling Baptists worldwide to set aside time in their homes, church services and communities for a time of united prayer for Manipur on Sunday, Aug. 20. To access resources, click here.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—For nine days, Pieter Friedrich starved himself to get his congressman’s attention.

Drawing from his own Christian tradition of prayer and fasting and the Indian political tactic of “satyagraha,” the activist and journalist fasted from July 27 until Aug. 5, aiming to convince Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to speak on the House floor about violence against Christians.

“He has not just a political responsibility, but a human responsibility to raise these issues,” said Friedrich, after he had abandoned his strike. “I believe the only way he continues to refuse doing so is because he’s continuing to straddle the fence.”

The Christians whose plight Friedrich was demanding Khanna take responsibility for, however, were not Californians, but live more than 7,000 miles away in Manipur, India. The fence he was accusing an American congressman of straddling was U.S. policy toward Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his troubling history of Hindu nationalism.

From President Joe Biden to Indian American congressmembers like Khanna, American politicians are under increasing pressure to account for their courtship of Modi, the leader of a strategically important ally and the world’s largest democracy, while ignoring the Indian regime’s oppression of religious minorities.

Modi’s recent visit to Washington, where he met with President Biden, attended a state dinner and addressed Congress, fully rehabilitated a figure who, in 2005, was refused a visa by the U.S. State Department.

At the time, Modi, then chief minister of the state of Gujarat, held a precarious position on the international stage after 1,000 of his constituents, mostly Muslims, died in religious riots.

Since being elected prime minister in 2014, his record has improved, but marginalization of minority groups has continued.

In its 2023 annual report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom cited India for its “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

Violence in Manipur

In May, violence erupted in the Imphal Valley of Manipur, in northeastern India, after members of the mostly Christian Kuki tribe protested a court order extending benefits to the Meiteis, an ethnic group many Kukis believe the government already favors. After the protest, Kuki were subjected to egregious violence and sexual crimes by Meitei mobs.

Friedrich, a human rights advocate whose social media account has been banned twice in India for putting pressure on the Modi regime, has also urged American politicians of Indian heritage to speak out against rights violations in India.

“I feel like I’ve been called to be doing what I’m doing,” said Friedrich in an interview with Religion News Service. “These are people from my community, and I believe in the teaching that we are all one body in Christ. And whatever does harm to that body does harm to the whole.”

On July 30, midway through his hunger strike, Friedrich attended a Khanna town hall to confront him. A Kuki-Zomi Christian woman also spoke about her family, who has been victim to the violent clashes.

“I believe that there should be absolutely no violence against any place of worship,” Khanna told the town hall audience. “I will be co-leading a bipartisan delegation in coordination with the State Department that will build on President Biden’s relationship with India, which is critical to American foreign policy interests.”

The co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, Khanna has been working on U.S.-India relations since his election in 2017. He has condemned Hindu nationalism, which many accuse Modi’s government of promoting, but in June, Khanna invited Modi to address the India caucus.

Modi’s opponents say the invitation was a public affirmation. Khanna’s tepid official response to the violence in Manipur was considered another strike against him.

“A lot of people in D.C. have made this calculation that for the sake of a deeper U.S.–India relationship, they need to be nice to Prime Minister Modi,” said Ria Chakrabarty, policy director of Hindus for Human Rights.

On Aug. 7, Hindus for Human Rights, along with the Indian American Muslim Council and India Civil Watch International, met with Khanna ahead of a planned trip to India to discuss their concerns, especially regarding the role of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party “in eroding democracy and rights.”

In response, Khanna “expressed his unwavering commitment to upholding democratic values and human rights both within India and the United States,” according to a Hindus for Human Rights press release.

Modi’s U.S. visit did prompt some politicians to speak out. U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington led more than 70 legislators in sending a letter urging President Biden to bring up human rights and democratic values in India.

‘It’s just evil’

But activists have begun to organize to sway the debate and demand action. Two days after the crisis in Manipur began, Florence Lowe, a tech entrepreneur in Dallas, founded the North American Manipur Tribal Association with the goal of bringing justice to the victims. Her 77-year-old mother, her sister-in-law and young nieces and nephews live in Manipur.

“It’s just evil,” said Lowe. “I don’t recognize who these people are.”

In May, Lowe got a harrowing call from her sister telling Lowe that the family had been forced to flee from their home in the town of Paite Veng. They originally were sheltered by a Hindu Meitei neighbor, and have since found refuge with family.

In the continuing violence, houses have been burned and looted by mobs and churches destroyed. The Lowe’s neighborhood church was razed, and along with it the pulpit Lowe’s father had designed.

Aside from the thousands of displaced Kukis, hundreds of others have been physically attacked, raped or killed.

‘Need the body of Christ to speak up’

Lowe is worried that violence in Manipur will soon be forgotten and seen as “one of the many atrocities.”

“Just trying to raise awareness is not working,” she said. “We need the body of Christ to speak up.”

N. Biren Singh, the governor of Manipur, a Meitei Hindu, is a member of the BJP. Singh has referred to the violence as “pre-planned,” adding that a “foreign hand” cannot be ruled out.

The crisis only gained national attention in India when a video of Kuki Christian women being paraded naked in Manipur went viral. Modi called the video “the most shameful,” but many were disappointed that his response came more than two months into the conflict.

Lowe is clear that the U.S. government has the responsibility to address ethnic cleansing of this nature, no matter what the deep-rooted cause of violence is.

“I’ve always been religious, but this has made me so much more of a believer,” said Lowe. “One thing I’ve realized is that for all my education and experience, I don’t know how to solve this problem. I’ve realized that God is the only one who can really do anything.”

Randel Everett—who recently told the board of 21Wilberforce he plans to retire at the end of the year as the organization’s president—recalled the reaction nine years ago when he stepped down as pastor of First Baptist Church in Midland.

The congregation was “pretty shocked” when he resigned as pastor to launch a nonprofit human rights organization focused on international religious freedom, Everett said.

“But within a few weeks, they began to own this,” Everett said, regarding the birth of what originally was known as the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative and now as 21Wilberforce. “They realized this was an extension of their church. Midland has been at the center of religious freedom movements for a couple of decades.”

He noted Deborah Fikes, a member of First Baptist in Midland, led the Midland Ministerial Alliance to lobby President George W. Bush to promote peace and human rights in Sudan. She served several years as the World Evangelical Alliance’s representative to the United Nations, advocating for international religious freedom and peace initiatives.

Everett also was inspired by Bob Fu, founder of Midland-based ChinaAid, a Christian nonprofit organization that provides legal aid and support for persecuted religious dissidents and other prisoners of conscience in China.

“I don’t think 21Wilberforce could have started any place other than Midland, Texas, and at First Baptist in Midland,” Everett said.

Darrell Dunton was among the members of First Baptist in Midland who embraced the 21Wilberforce vision. Dunton was chairman of deacons when Everett was pastor there, and he has served on the 21Wilberforce board since its inception.

“God convicted Randel and [his wife] Sheila to leave what truly could have been a comfortable retirement destination in Midland to a place of unknown possibilities,” he said.

Dunton characterized Everett as “a man of great vision, resolve and conviction” who “always thinks big and surrounds himself with individuals who can help make those dreams and visions happen by giving them the freedom to exercise the gifts God has given to them.”

Everett, a former executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, said he long had “a heart for social justice” and passion for religious liberty rooted in Baptist heritage.

“A lot of times we are prophetic in speaking about injustices that affect us personally, but we often are not on the cutting edge of speaking on behalf of those who have no one to speak for them—the most vulnerable,” Everett said.

Conversations shaped 21Wilberforce

Long-term involvement with the Baptist World Alliance particularly raised his awareness about Christian brothers and sisters globally who suffer from religious repression.

Conversations with Michael Horowitz, a Jewish lawyer from the Religious Liberty Project at the Hudson Institute, and former Congressman Frank Wolf, a Presbyterian layman, led directly to the creation of 21Wilberforce.

During a trip to Midland, Horowitz noted Jews around the globe rally around persecuted Jews, and he asked why Christians fail to do the same when the basic human rights of those who share their faith are denied.

Wolf raised a question about religious persecution in a phone call that haunted Everett: “What is it going to take to wake up the church in America?”

Discussions between Horowitz, Wolf and Everett helped shape 21Wilberforce. When Wolf retired from Congress in 2015, he began several years of service as a senior fellow with the human rights organization.

Wolf praised Everett as “a great man, a good friend and a visionary” leader who made a tremendous impact as founding president of 21Wilberforce.

Everett’s experience as pastor of Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church, Va., a congregation filled with members who have political connections and experience in the nation’s capital, made him “uniquely qualified” to lead 21Wilberforce, Wolf said.

“Randel has a pastor’s heart, and he also understands how Washington works,” he said. “He bridges both worlds.”

Early on, Wolf suggested a trip to Iraq to gain a firsthand perspective on the plight of religious minorities in the ISIS-occupied Nineveh Plain.

“Within a month after we opened our offices, four or five of us literally were standing behind sandbags with Kurdish generals a mile and a half from ISIS,” Everett recalled.

When Everett talks about “standing” near the front lines, he means it literally, Wolf noted. Wolf recalled his concern that at 6-foot, 4-inches tall, Everett offered an all-too-inviting target for ISIS snipers.

The visiting 21Wilberforce team interviewed hundreds of people and documented widespread persecution of Christians and Yazidis in Iraq.

21Wilberforce produced a report, “Edge of Extinction: The Eradication of Religious and Ethnic Minorities in Iraq,” asserting actions by ISIS in Iraq against Yazidis and Christians met the legal definition of genocide.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom cited the 21Wilberforce report when it declared ISIS in Iraq guilty of genocide. On March 17, 2016, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry similarly declared ISIS guilty of genocide.

Working in neglected areas

21Wilberforce also devoted significant time and resources to document religious persecution and human rights atrocities in Nigeria at a time when international media paid little attention.

“We went all over the Middle Belt of northern Nigeria. We went places where they had not seen their own military—places where our State Department had never been,” Everett said. “We went past dozens of villages that were burned to the ground. We heard horrific stories.”

The 21Wilberforce team produced a report on their findings, “Nigeria: Fractured and Forgotten—Discrimination and Violence Along Religious Fault Lines.”

“Over seven years ago, my religious advocacy work on behalf of the persecuted Christians in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region brought me in contact with 21Wilberforce, which has a powerful model to engage government and nongovernmental agencies in the area of religious freedom,” said Stephen Enada executive president of the International Committee on Nigeria.

21Wilberforce provided ICON “a platform to engage U.S. policy and civil society space,” Enada said.

He praised Everett as “a skilled coalition-builder” and “a mobilizer” who has helped facilitate dialogue involving religious leaders and international victims of violence.

21Wilberforce has gained a solid reputation among key officials in Washington, D.C., and in the international community as the “go-to resource” about international religious freedom, Dunton said.

“Today, legislators on the Hill, other NGOs and the White House respect and seek input from 21Wilberforce in the arena of the persecuted church and religious freedom,” Dutton said.

Partners with the Baptist World Alliance

BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown participated in the fact-finding missions to Iraq and Nigeria—along with other locations—when he served as executive vice president of 21Wilberforce.

“To stand in places of ongoing persecution, looking into the eyes of those who have held fast to their faith and hearing them speak words of joy and blessing over you is a transformative experience that leaves you humbled,” Brown said.

In addition to the major initiatives 21Wilberforce has launched in the past nine years, Brown also pointed to its “quiet impact” through projects such as helping to meet the educational needs of children in Nigeria who fled from Boko Haram.

He praised Everett as a “visionary leader with prophetic navigation” and as a “theologian in action,” as well as a “friend and mentor.” Brown also expressed appreciation for the ongoing collaborative partnership between BWA and 21Wilberfoce.

Three years ago, 21Wilberforce entered into a formal relationship with BWA that provides the organization “eyes and ears in over 130 countries around the world,” Everett said.

“Baptists aren’t our destination in these other countries. Baptists are our gateway. We want Baptists to introduce us not only to other Christians who are there, but also to other faith groups.

… We believe religious liberty must be for people of all faiths and people of no faith. Faith cannot be coerced. It’s got to be a decision made voluntarily.”

Through its Global Freedom Network, 21Wilberforce is seeking to inform and engage churches in international religious liberty issues, Everett added.

21Wilberforce also is working in partnership with the Baptist General Convention of Texas to involve congregations in 30 days of prayer for persecuted people of faith in November.

Linking churches in the West with persecuted Christians in other parts of the world will benefit both, he emphasized. In particular, Christians in the West can gain biblical insights from brothers and sisters who suffer for their faith, he asserted.

“The Bible was written by persecuted people for persecuted people,” he said. “It makes sense to them. … They understand it.”

Everett expressed joy about international religious freedom victories, such as the safe resettlement of the Chinese Mayflower Church to East Texas, working in partnership with ChinaAid and Freedom Seekers International.

However, he voiced concern about continued religious repression and persecution in places such as Nigeria, Myanmar, China, Nicaragua and India.

“There is much that still needs to be done,” Everett said. “I think 21Wilberforce is just finishing its first chapter. There are several more chapters to write.

“I’ll continue to be an ambassador for religious freedom and will look for ways to encourage participation in 21Wilberforce and other partners who are on the front lines dealing with this.”

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (BP)—Pastor Samson Doreliens ministers in the midst of violence in Port Au Prince, the site of the July 27 kidnapping of an American nurse and her daughter who remain missing.

The 600 active congregants of the Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti Church of Cote Plage are torn by the gang violence that has overtaken the city, Doreliens said.

“Some are drawn closer to God because they believe it is God only who can do something to take the pain away,” he said of the congregation. “Others are discouraged, questioning why God is letting all kinds of things happen to the country—violence, natural disasters.”

Distinction between urban and rural areas

Florida Baptist Haitian Fellowship President Jackson Voltaire helped organize the Baptist Missionary Confraternity of Haiti (Confraternitè Missionaire Baptiste d’Haiti), a convention of hundreds of churches spread across six regions there.

Those in the western region, including Port au Prince, worship under tremendous safety risks, he said, while those in rural communities can minister more freely.

“They hold worship services with a great deal of difficulty,” he said. “But thank God that’s happening mainly in the metropolitan areas where Port au Prince is. In that region, the western region, we have hundreds of churches operating, but again … with great difficulty.”

Attendance has dropped at the Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti Church of Cote Plage, Doreliens said, where many members have lost their jobs or simply can’t travel to work amid the violence. Sunday offerings are donated to the poor and widows.

Churches have reduced the frequency of worship services and Bible study and have cancelled evening events.

Haitians remain hopeful

Community outreach continues only with the risk of pastors being kidnapped or shot, Voltaire said, but many remain hopeful.

“Out of the many conversations I have with the pastors, and not only with the pastors, I would say the Haitian people in general, they are very hopeful. And if you consider it, the country cannot go any lower than the way it is now,” he said.

In addition to such highly publicized kidnappings as that of El Roi Haiti ministry nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter, numerous kidnappings occur daily in the capital city, Voltaire said. Gangs who control the city typically kidnap residents for ransom while pressuring families to remain silent.

Dorsainvil, a nurse who relocated from New Hampshire to work for the ministry whose director is her husband, is being held under a $1 million ransom, area residents told the Associated Press.

El Roi Haiti continues to pray for Dorsainvil’s release as the U.S. State Departments and others actively seek her freedom.

“Many tears have been shed this week, but we, together with our team, are working and praying continuously to bring them home safely, and we continue to hold onto hope,” the ministry blogged Aug. 3.

“We are so thankful for the very knowledgeable and experienced professionals God has brought together to complete the task of securing their freedom.”

Call for patience

While Haiti remains under a “do not travel advisory” from the U.S. State Department, Voltaire said many pastors look forward to the day when Southern Baptists can return to Haiti.

“There’s hope because God is in Haiti as well. And I am sure that there are things that the Haitian people themselves need to do,” Voltaire said, referencing 2 Chronicles 7:14.

He encouraged Southern Baptists to be patient and be prepared to return to Haiti when violence subsides.

“As far as the CMBH, as far as the Florida Haitian Baptist Fellowship, we are organizing ourselves in a way that whenever God allows the missions to resume, when the greater Southern Baptist family is ready to come to Haiti, they will come to a much better, more productive environment where we can do ministry and really impact that side of the island for the Lord.”

EDITOR’S NOTE:  The Associated Press reported Aug. 9 that an aid organization in Haiti announced American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were freed nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped.

International religious freedom advocates from East Texas departed Aug. 3 bound for Laos to participate in peaceful demonstrations protesting the detention—and possible deportation—of a Chinese human rights lawyer.

Deana Brown, a former Southern Baptist missionary and founder of Tyler-based Freedom Seekers International, is leading the group, who plan to engage in a public “silent protest” to call attention to the plight of Lu Siwei.

Lu Siwei was on his way to Thailand, where he planned to fly to the United States to join his wife and daughter, when he was detained by authorities July 28. He had both a U.S. visa and Laotian visa in his possession at the time.

Two individuals working in partnership with Midland-based ChinaAid—an American and a Canadian—were with Lu at the time he was apprehended. Both subsequently were interrogated by authorities.

Earlier this year, Brown was in Thailand visiting members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church—a congregation nicknamed the “Mayflower Church” because they fled China seeking religious freedom—when they faced a deportation hearing. Brown and an associate subsequently were detained alongside members of the Mayflower Church.

Brown said she believes the detention of two Americans prompted involvement by the U.S. Department of State and helped lead to the safe resettlement of the Mayflower Church members in Texas. She expressed hope her presence in Laos “might provide a bit of an edge” for Lu.

“I will return next Thursday and would love for lawyer Lu to be on the same flight,” Brown said.

‘Time is of the essence’

In an Aug. 2 letter sent to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chunxiao Zhang—Lu Siwei’s wife, who has lived in Southern California for more than a year—stated her husband was “apprehended by Laotian police at the Laos-Thailand border for unknown reasons.”

She expressed her belief the Chinese Communist Party is urging the Laotian government to repatriate her husband and said “time is of the essence.”

“If he is sent back, it is obvious what will happen to him: he will be imprisoned or tortured, as is standard treatment of dissidents by the Chinese Communist Party,” she wrote.

“My husband has been held by the government of Laos for a week now, and the authorities there have been slow to take action, even with pressure from the international community. The CCP is waiting at the immigration office, and he is facing the prospect of being sent back to China at any moment.”

In a text message to the Baptist Standard, Chunxiao Zhang expressed appreciation for the prayers Texas Baptists and others have offered on behalf of her husband and her family.

“My husband and I are not Christians, but there were many Christians who helped us tremendously during this crisis and made us feel God’s strength,” she wrote. “This strength is the main reason why I have been able to persevere until today.”

She asked concerned Christians to “continue to pray for my husband until he comes to America safely.”

About 80 human rights organizations and legal groups—ranging from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to ChinaAid and Freedom Seekers International—issued a statement calling for Laotian authorities to release Lu.

‘Faces the high likelihood of torture’

“We are gravely concerned that he is at serious risk of forced repatriation to China, where he faces the high likelihood of torture and other ill-treatment,” the joint statement reads.

The organizations identify Lu Siwei as “a renowned rights defender and lawyer in China, advocating for vulnerable groups and representing numerous political dissidents.”

“As the Chinese authorities have become increasingly intolerant of independent rights advocacy, they have targeted Lu with intimidation and harassment, including disbarment in January 2021 for online speech that allegedly ‘endangered national security,’” the statement reads.

The organizations noted Lu has been “closely monitored by Chinese authorities and subject to an exit ban” the past two years.

“By handing Lu Siwei over to the Chinese authorities, the Lao government would be putting Lu Siwei at grave risk of torture and inhumane treatment,” the statement reads.

Some Texas-based advocates for persecuted religious groups fear Lu Siwei—a Chinese human rights lawyer arrested in Laos last week—could be deported to China, where he likely would be imprisoned.

Laotian police reportedly seized Lu on Friday morning when he was boarding a train bound for Thailand, where he planned to catch a flight to the United States to join his wife and daughter in Los Angeles.

His wife, Zhang Chunxiao, issued a video appeal on social media saying her husband faced “imminent deportation to Communist China by the Laotian government.”

“My husband Lu Siwei will certainly be subjected to torture and prison if he is forcibly returned to China,” she continued.

Bob Fu, founder of the Midland-based ChinaAid religious freedom organization, told the Associated Press Lu’s family contacted him to seek his help. Lu was under surveillance but was not being investigated or charged with any crime, and he had valid visas for the United States and Laos, Fu said.

“This clearly shows the long arm of China beyond its borders to control and arrest those traveling overseas,” Fu told AP. “It’s very chilling.”

Deana Brown, founding CEO of Tyler-based Freedom Seekers International, urged Texas Baptists and other Christians to pray for Lu.

Earlier this year, Brown was in Thailand visiting members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church—a congregation nicknamed the “Mayflower Church” because they fled China in pursuit of religious freedom—when they faced a deportation hearing. Brown and an associate subsequently were detained alongside members of the Mayflower Church.

Following extensive behind-the-scenes work by the U.S. Department of State, the international community and several Christian human rights organizations—and a call to prayer among Christians in the United States—members of the Mayflower Church were released and allowed to resettle in East Texas.

Members of the Mayflower Church arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Friday evening, April 7. Randel Everett, founding president of the 21Wilberforce human rights organization, called it “a Good Friday miracle.”

Brown—a former Southern Baptist missionary—agreed. The prayers of concerned Christians brought about the release of the Mayflower Church and their safe resettlement in the United States, she insisted.

“Here is one more family that needs our prayer support,” Brown said of Lu and his family. “One life is worth our efforts.”

Blasphemy laws, along with restrictions on religious clothing and broadly worded legislation criminalizing hate speech, are among the practices of some European Union member states that discriminate against religious minorities, a new report notes.

While the European Union and its member states promote religious freedom abroad, some countries have enacted “unduly restrictive polices” that harm religious minorities within their own nations, according to “Status of Freedom of Religion or Belief in the European Union,” a report the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued July 24.

“Members of religious minority groups have reported feeling targeted and unwelcome in certain EU countries and, in some cases, unable to lead a life compatible with both their religion and the laws of the country in which they reside,” the report stated.

While Greece and some other European countries have repealed blasphemy laws, other nations—such as Poland—have strengthened their provisions, the commission reported. The number of indictments for blasphemy in Poland nearly tripled from 2016 to 2020.

Poland—as a member of the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Alliance—signed a statement last November condemning the use of blasphemy laws and calling for their repeal. However, one month earlier, the United Poland political party submitted a proposal to expand blasphemy laws by omitting a requirement that someone actually be offended by the actions of another person.

Less than four months ago, a Polish court found two women guilty of “offending religious feelings” after they displayed a picture of the Virgin Mary and Jesus with rainbow haloes during a 2021 march promoting LGBTQ rights.

“Let’s be clear: Blasphemy laws harm religious and secular residents alike. Blasphemy laws ultimately hollow out religion punishing residents for rejecting the state-sanctioned religion. In my experience, asking questions about religion often deepens one’s faith,” said Jennifer Hawks, associate general counsel with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

“The recent USCIRF report reminds us that we all have work to do protecting faith freedom for all. While a few European countries have repealed their blasphemy laws, others are doubling down to expand or increasingly enforce existing blasphemy laws.

“No government should have the authority to dictate what counts as right religion. Protecting religious freedom requires a global commitment that must include repealing blasphemy laws.”

Widespread restrictions on religious head coverings

The commission report also pointed to widespread restrictions on religious head coverings—Islamic hijabs, the Jewish yarmulke and the Sikh turban. European Union member states with restrictions include Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain.

In the past two years, France has attempted to expand preexisting bans on a variety of religious head coverings in public spaces. The prohibitions passed the French Senate, but the National Assembly did not enact them. However, France’s highest court upheld a ban on wearing religious symbols in courtrooms.

In the Netherlands, a law went into effectprohibiting face-covering clothing, such as burqas and niqabs, in public spaces where people are expected to communicate. The ban applies to public transportation, schools, government buildings and nursing homes. Similarly, Belgium banned face coverings in public places.

“Such regulations particularly impact Muslim women. For example, these laws perpetuate the idea that wearing a headscarf is antithetical to a European country’s values and may even represent ‘extremist,’ or anti-Western ideologies,” the report stated.

“Moreover, restrictions on head coverings are often paired with rhetoric calling for the promotion of social integration or social assimilation—the abandonment of non-European cultural or religious values and the adoption of European cultural values—which contributes to “othering” and anti-immigrant sentiment.

Additionally, state regulation of the hijab is often justified by claims that Muslim women wear hijabs due to force or pressure, which denies women’s agency in their religious beliefs and practices.”

The report also highlighted ways overly broad restrictions on hate speech restricted religious freedom of expression. Rather than focusing exclusively on speech that incites violence, multiple European countries have passed laws prohibiting expression otherwise protected under international human rights standards.

“From a religious freedom perspective, overbroad hate speech laws are particularly concerning when used against individuals for peacefully sharing religious beliefs that others find offensive or controversial,” the report stated.

Some European Union member states also have passed “anti-sect” laws, funding agencies or outside groups that propagate harmful information about some minority religious groups.

Laws target religious practices of Muslims and Jews

The report particularly noted laws enacted in some European Union member states that target the religious practices of Muslims and Jews.

“Various EU countries have passed laws or engaged in practices to counter terrorism, extremism and/or Islamism that have implications for protected, nonviolent activities or expression,” the report stated.

“Especially when presented with the concurrent aim of promoting ‘national’ or ‘European’ values, these official efforts can lead to stigmatization and discrimination against Muslims by creating a perception that their religion is at odds with such values, even though such legislation does not specifically mention Muslims or Islam.”

Nine European Union member states have placed restrictions on religious animal slaughter practices, which keep adherents of some faiths—particularly Jews and Muslims—from observing religious dietary laws.

In some Scandinavian countries, special interest groups have attempted to place major restrictions on circumcision as practiced by Jews and Muslims.

“Antisemitism is generally on the rise in Europe,” the report stated. “While many EU member states have committed to fighting the scourge of Jew-hatred, governments still maintain policies and take actions that suppress Jewish life and permit antisemitism and hate to flourish. Consequently, it is unsurprising that Jews regularly express that they feel they must hide their Jewish identity.”

While some laws affecting religious minorities are couched in terms of national security, the commission report pointed out the need to balance legitimate concerns with the basic right to freedom of religion or belief.

“While European Union countries generally have in place constitutional and legal protections for freedom of religion or belief, some have also enacted laws and pursued policies that systematically violate religious freedom and have a serious and disproportionate impact on the ability of religious minorities to live in accordance with their beliefs,” the report stated.

“Importantly, the continuation of such policies at an official level likewise encourages discrimination at a societal level and contributes to an environment that has seen continued violent attacks on places of worship and members of religious minority communities, encouraging increased emigration from Europe.”

The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on authorities in India to stop ongoing violence in the northeastern state of Manipur, where more than 250 houses of worship have been destroyed or damaged.

The resolution “strongly urges the Indian authorities to take all necessary measures and make the utmost effort to promptly halt the ongoing ethnic and religious violence, to protect all religious minorities, such as Manipur’s Christian community, and to preempt any further escalation.”

It calls for “India’s central government and all political actors and religious leaders to take urgent action to restore calm and ensure an inclusive dialogue involving civil society and the affected communities.”

The European Parliament resolution calls on authorities “to allow independent investigations into the violence,” urges an end to an internet shutdown in the region, and demands the government “grant unhindered access to humanitarian aid providers, international observers and journalists.”

More than 120 killed in two violent months

Up to 50,000 people have been displaced and more than 1,700 homes seriously damaged or destroyed since violence flared up in Manipur more than two months ago. About 120 people have been killed.

The resolution notes “accounts of partisan involvement by security forces in the killings have increased distrust in the authorities.”

Conflict between the Kuki, a predominantly Christian ethnic group in Manipur, and the Meitei, who are mostly Hindu, began as a political dispute over land rights. The oil belt beneath Manipur—particularly in the hill country occupied by the Kuki tribe—is estimated at 8 trillion cubic feet.

Riots first broke out in response to May 3 protests calling on the government to grant scheduled tribe status to the Meitei people. Scheduled tribes have constitutionally granted property protection, and tribal members have access to political representation, educational benefits and affirmative action in employment.

Adina Portaru, senior counsel for ADF International in Brussels, global partner of the Alliance Defending Freedom, welcomed the resolution by the European Parliament.

“The ongoing religious freedom crisis we are seeing throughout India has erupted into violent destruction and chaos in Manipur,” Portaru said.

“It’s long past time for India to not only address the situation in Manipur, but also it must eradicate any laws and policies that obstruct freedom of religion. Our prayers are with the people of India.”

Both ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘religious persecution’

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported India’s government, led by the Bharatiya Janatra Party, has supported discriminatory policies—including anti-conversion laws—that severely restrict the religious freedom of minorities.

The commission repeatedly has recommended the U.S. Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations” of religious freedom.

Pastor Thong Lun of Greater Houston Burmese Christian Fellowship and his congregation have a longstanding ministry among refugees from Myanmar who live in northeast India.

Thong has maintained close contact with sources there, and he characterizes the situation as both “ethnic cleansing” and “religious persecution.” He characterized the situation as “complicated and difficult for anyone on the outside to understand.”

“The Meitei Hindu nationalists are determined to wipe out the tribal Kuki Christians from the land,” Thong told the Baptist Standard last month. “But the mobs also are destroying Meitei Christian churches and killing their own people who are Christians.”

LVIV, Ukraine (BP)—A Russian airstrike targeting civilians in Lviv damaged the home of a Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary worker about a half-mile drive from the campus.

The contract worker, a husband and father whose wife is pregnant, was not injured in the July 7 attack but relocated to live with local relatives, seminary President Yaroslav “Slavik” Pyzh said. Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary continued to operate after the attack that killed 10, but students are now on summer break.

Ukrainian forces shot down seven of the 10 Kalibr missiles Russia launched from the Black Sea on Lviv, Ukrainian officials told Reuters.

The far western Ukraine city had been a relatively safe location outside the initial war zone and is home to many internally displaced persons.

“It was fairly close to the seminary campus,” Pyzh said. “The people got really tired so when we have sirens, not all of them go to bomb shelters anymore. They just stay at home, which kind of explains the number of people being injured and killed as a result of that.”

Fleeing to bomb shelters during air raid sirens has been a way of life in Lviv for nearly a year.

“People are just tired of running back and forth to bomb shelters. Sadly, this is just part of life.”

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the airstrike was the largest on Lviv’s civilian infrastructure since the war began.

The bombs struck as residents were asleep, and damaged 35 residential homes, an office complex, a student campus, a school and 50 cars, Reuters reported.

Seminary offers educational program in counseling

Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary continues to minister as the war hits closer to home, operating 17 We Care Centers in cooperation with nongovernmental groups. The centers, launched in 2022 with six locations offering humanitarian aid, have expanded to offer humanitarian, mental, educational and spiritual support. Seven of the centers have planted one church each, Pyzh said.

Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary has expanded its educational programs to offer two counseling career tracks in response to the war. Class sizes have grown as students formerly enrolled in schools in eastern Ukraine have fled the war. Between 600 and 800 students are expected to be included in the spring 2023 graduating class, with commencement rescheduled to September.

Southern Baptist Send Relief continues to support We Care Centers, with locations spanning the country from Uzhhorod south of Lviv to Dryzkovka in the Donetsk region near the Russian boarder.

‘Cultural genocide campaign’

Meanwhile, religious persecution watchdog Global Christian Relief accuses Russia of “waging a brutal campaign against Christians in Ukraine,” pointing out that Russia has “killed, imprisoned or tortured at least two dozen religious leaders,” and destroyed, damaged or looted nearly 500 religious buildings and houses of worship.

“These targeted attacks carried out by Russian forces against Ukrainian Christians and religious minorities essentially constitute a cultural genocide campaign,” Global Christian Relief CEO David Curry said.

“Churches are soft targets, which means they are typically exposed and have little security against an invading army. They hold significant spiritual and cultural value for communities and destroying them is a deliberate attempt by Russia to demoralize Ukrainians.”

Curry, who serves on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also accuses Russian Orthodox Church leaders of helping justify the war “by giving it their blessing and condoning the violence through rhetoric cloaked in religious language.”

 “These leaders also view the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as illegitimate,” Curry said, “giving an additional pretext for permitting the invasion.”

At least 400 Baptist churches closed during the first six months of the war, but church planters have worked to establish new churches to minister to congregations displaced by the war.

Despite the challenges, Pyzh describes the current climate as a “good time” for churches.

“People are flooding churches,” Pyzh said. “We have new opportunities to minister to people. They have a lot of needs—spiritual, emotional, physical, you name it. I think the church has mobilized, so everyone is helping everyone. I see a lot of openness and willingness to help. I don’t see any kind of resistance.”

Churches must use the opportunity to influence more societal realms with a Christian worldview, he said, including the public square and education.

As of July 7, Russia killed at least 9,183 Ukrainian civilians and injured 16,009, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights reported. Included are at least 535 children killed and at least 1,914 injured.

Persecution of religious minorities with Russia has escalated since the invasion of Ukraine, where Russia’s military has destroyed houses of worship and tortured religious leaders, according to two reports from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The commission released both “Religious Freedom Conditions in the Russian Federation” and “Russia’s Religious Freedom Violations in Ukraine” July 5.

‘Systematic harassment’ of Russian religious minorities

 “Since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on February 23, 2022, Russian authorities have continued their systematic harassment and prosecution of religious minority communities within the Russian Federation, while simultaneously undertaking the largest crackdown on independent civil society in decades,” the update on religious freedom within Russian stated.

Russian officials have accused religious minorities of extremism, terrorism and blasphemy—and labeled them as “undesirable organization”—to crack down on religious leaders who have not voiced support for Russian aggression toward Ukraine, the update noted.

“Authorities have intimidated religious leaders and pressured them to remain silent about the war or to publicly support Russia, despite their own moral or religiously grounded opposition to the war,” the report stated.

A 1997 Russian law recognizes only Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism as “traditional” religions. Furthermore, Russia increasingly has granted special recognition and privileges to the Russian Orthodox Church.

“The Russian government views independent or ‘nontraditional’ religious groups as disloyal to the state and a threat to political stability,” the report stated.

Government officials have imposed steep fines on individuals and religious groups engaging in broadly defined “missionary activity” such as answering questions about their faith outside of designated religious sites, the commission reported.

Since the Russian Supreme Court declared Jehovah’s Witnesses as an extremist group six years ago, officials have subjected its members to 2,000 home searches and imprisoned 44 Jehovah’s Witnesses, the report noted.

Russia has accused Muslims of terrorism and sentenced more than 200 adherents of Islam to prison without presenting evidence they promoted violence.

The Russian government declared New Generation Evangelical Christian Church an “undesirable” group, and a pastor in April was sentenced to a year in prison after including symbols of the church in social media posts, the commission reported.

In March, a Russian district court sentenced an Evangelical pastor to 18 months in prison for allegedly “brainwashing” individuals in worship services.

The report also documents the denial of religious freedom and other civil liberties since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, imposing censorship and using vaguely worded laws to label dissidents as “foreign agents.”

“Russian authorities continue to engage in severe religious repression and have used its war in Ukraine to institute new or amend existing legal mechanisms to further suppress religious communities and decimate independent civil society,” the report concluded.

Russia guilty of ‘gross religious freedom violations’ in Ukraine

The commission’s report on Russian action in Ukraine noted the escalation and expansion of “gross religious freedom violations” that began with its 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea and occupation of Donbas.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, “its military has dismantled religious life and stifled religious diversity throughout other parts of Ukraine,” the commission reported.

“On the frontlines of the war, Russian artillery and military forces frequently damaged and destroyed religious buildings and other sites and killed or injured those sheltering or worshiping in these places,” the report stated.

“In areas under Russian control, de-facto authorities have abducted and tortured religious leaders and enforced the same repressive Russian legal mechanisms that were instituted in Crimea and Donbas.”

Religious groups in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine were compelled to register with the Russian government, and authorities denied legal registration to several faith groups, the report noted.

“Upon registration, religious communities must adhere to Russian law which prohibits certain forms of religious activities and speech,” the report stated.

‘A humanitarian and human rights catastrophe’

The commission report stated Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “produced a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe.” The report noted the United Nations confirmed about 9,000 civilian fatalities in Ukraine and another 15,000 wounded.

“Russia has consistently bombed civilian targets, including hospitals, schools, apartments, shopping centers, and houses of worship,” the report stated.

The U.N. Human Rights Council concluded Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine, including summary executions, torture and rape.

“Among these gross rights violations and potential war crimes, Russian forces have damaged places of worship and targeted religious leaders because of their religious leadership roles,” the commission reported.

At least 30 religious leaders—pastors and deacons, as well as priests, nuns and monks—have been killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the report noted.

“Russian military personnel have consistently threatened, exiled, detained, disappeared, tortured, and killed religious figures in order to exert control and influence over local populations,” the report stated.

The commission reported armed military personnel abducted Baptist pastor Leonid Ponomaryov and his wife Tatyana from their home in Mariupol and held them several weeks.

“Religious figures, civilians, and aid workers have also been injured and killed as places of worship and other buildings became the target of various military campaigns and bombings,” the report continued.

The U.N. verified damage to at least 112 religious sites, while other groups have reported up to 500 religious buildings damaged or destroyed, the report noted.

‘Deteriorating religious freedom’

Randel Everett, founding president of the 21Wilberforce human rights organization, praised the commission for documenting religious freedom violations in Ukraine and Russia.

“Religion has become another battleground in the Russia-Ukraine conflict” Everett said. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has splintered Ukraine’s Orthodox Church, which has declared independence from the Russian Orthodox Church.

“The growing atrocities in Ukraine include the destruction of churches and religious sites, killing of worshipers and those seeking shelter in places of worship, and the abduction and torture of religious leaders. The latest USCIRF report provides valuable information for government officials, religious freedom advocates and the public on deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Russia and Ukraine.”

Every year since 2017, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended the U.S. Department of State designate Russia as a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

The State Department designated Russia as a Country of Particular Concern for the first time in 2021, and also designated it as a CPC last year.

At its 2022 annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala., the Baptist World Alliance General Council adopted a resolution condemning the “unprovoked and unjustified” Russian invasion of Ukraine. The resolution voiced concern about “ongoing restrictions on religious freedom or belief occurring in Russian-held territories of Ukraine.”