|
7 August 2026
India
Seven Christians, six of whom are pastors, have started five-year prison sentences in Madhya Pradesh State after being convicted on 12 June under anti-conversion legislation. The men were arrested in April 2024 following a malicious complaint that they had offered inducements to convert to Christianity while attending a child’s birthday party.
Pakistan
Three men convicted in the 2014 murder of husband and wife Shahzad Masih (26) and Shama Bibi (24), were acquitted of their death sentences on 9 July after a three-judge panel of Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. Shahzad Masih and Shama Bibi were killed by a mob after they had been accused of desecrating the pages of the Quran in November 2014.
Sudan
Iranian lawyer, Bahar Sahraian, who has defended political prisoners, including Christians, and who was detained on 16 May while following up on cases at Shiraz Revolutionary Court, was released on bail on 21 July having spent over two months in detention in Adel Abad prison, Shiraz. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Sahraian was held incommunicado and denied the opportunity to speak with her family.
Nigeria
The Christian community of Kauru County in Kaduna state was united in a demonstration of unity and solidarity on 1 August as they stood with Roman Catholic families who had gathered for the funeral service for 27 Christians massacred by suspected Fulani terrorists on 26 July. The community of Naridon village was targeted by the armed men shortly before mid-night on 26 July.
|