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6 February 2026 India A Hindu nationalist mob in Odisha state subjected house church pastor Bipin Bihari Naik (35) to a humiliating assault on 4 January, after accusing him of converting Hindus to Christianity. Pastor Naik was beaten and forced to walk barefoot over thorns as he was led to a Hindu temple where he was restrained as the attack continued. Pastor Naik’s two-and-a-half-hour ordeal finally ended after he was rescued by police, who later refused to register his complaint against the assailants.
Iran An Islamic law graduate who converted to Christianity over eight years ago, remains incommunicado following her detention in Tehran on 14 January. Ghazal Marzban, who has already spent time in prison after being convicted on a charge of “propaganda against the regime by chanting slogans,” was able to call her husband two hours after her arrest. Nothing has been heard from her since. Please pray for all who have been detained unjustly in this nation.
Pakistan The parents of 13-year-old Christian girl Maria Shahbaz are devastated by the decision of the Federal Constitution Court to grant custody of their daughter to the 30-year-old Muslim man accused of her abduction on 29 July 2025. In their ruling, the two-judge panel accepted Maria’s statement that she had converted and married of her own free will. Punjab state law currently mandates a minimum age of 16 for marriage, however, if a Christian girl converts to Islam, she becomes subject to Sharia law which allows marriage at a younger age. |
1 February 2026
Sri Lanka
On 6 December 2025, a prayer meeting in the home of a pastor in Gampaha District was disrupted by a group of around 13 neighbours and unidentified individuals who questioned if permission had been granted to hold a worship service in the home. After an exchange of words, the mob assaulted some of the Christians using wooden poles and a motorcycle helmet. Police attended and five of the congregation were taken to hospital for treatment to injuries they sustained. Eight members of the mob and four of the congregation were later arrested and appeared before a magistrate. They have been released on bail.
Eritrea
Various news outlets have reported the release of 177 Eritrean Christians from detention during November and December. It is understood that their release on bail only came after the prisoners signed confessions admitting they were guilty of following a religion banned by the government and giving undertakings that they would not resume membership of these banned groups.
Mexico
In what is a clear case of religious intolerance, village officials in Oaxaca state expelled a Protestant pastor from the community in which he lived and served after first detaining him for five days. Pastor Mariano Velásquez Martínez angered local Catholics after he refused to kneel and pray to an image of St. James during a Roman Catholic festival. The pastor, his wife and their three-month old baby are now being supported by relatives in Oaxaca City.