In Nicaragua, a systematic crackdown on Christians has led to the detention and imprisonment of six women over the past year, according to a persecution watchdog, which says these incidents, involving five Catholics and one Protestant, reveal a pattern of religious persecution under President Daniel Ortega’s regime.

Ortega, who secured a controversial fifth term in 2021, and his regime of the far-left Sandinista National Liberation Front, have been criticized for suppressing religious groups, opposition, journalists and activists for opposing human rights abuses. The regime arrests them under ambiguous national security laws and other charges.

María Asunción Salgado, a Catholic, was arrested on Oct. 7, 2023, while attending a service at Nuestra Señora de Asuncion parish in the Diocese of Estelí. She, along with two others, was detained for “religious belief, activity and association,” says the U.S.-based group International Christian Concern.

Similarly, Evelyn Guillén was taken into custody on Aug. 5, 2023, for her “religious activity and expression,” specifically after displaying a poster advocating for the release of Bishop Rolando Alvarez, an outspoken critic of the regime.

Alvarez, who was detained and later exiled to the Vatican, had been vocal about liberties being divine rights, a stance that led to his arrest. During her detention, Guillén has been denied medical treatment.

On Aug. 19, 2023, Adela Tercero and Gabriela Morales were arrested for allegedly spreading false information and “undermining national security.” Although these charges were eventually dropped, both were convicted of drug trafficking after allegedly being found with marijuana. Their affiliations with Jesuit educational institutions, known for their active role in anti-regime protests, seemingly made them targets.

Maricarmen Espinosa Segura, another detainee, was arrested in December 2023 on charges of money laundering, a common accusation used by the Ortega regime to imprison political opponents. She received a 10-year sentence and an $80 million fine on March 19, for her involvement with Puerta de la Montaña Ministry, part of the U.S.-based Mountain Gateway Christian group. The group, known for organizing large evangelical events, is viewed by the Nicaraguan government as a threat to its authority.

Marisela de Fátima Mejía Ruiz, associated with the same ministry, faced similar charges and was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $80 million for money laundering.

Seven detained Catholic priests were recently exiled to Rome.

The clergy, detained by the National Police in the Diocese of Matagalpa under Bishop Álvarez, were held under house arrest and at the National Inter-Diocesan Seminary of Our Lady of Fátima before their expulsion. The exiled group includes senior diocese leaders Fathers René Vega Matamoros and Edgard Sacasa, who led the diocese following Bishop Álvarez’s earlier exile.

The crackdown has not only affected individuals but also religious institutions.

The Nicaraguan government has also canceled the legal registration of 1,500 nonprofit organizations, including 695 religious groups spanning Catholic, Evangelical and Pentecostal denominations. The move, published in the government Gazette, La Gaceta, ostensibly targets organizations for failing to comply with financial reporting requirements, but is widely seen as a further clampdown on religious freedom.

Legal experts and activists within Nicaragua have condemned these actions.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has documented the increasing repression against religious communities in Nicaragua, noting threats and surveillance of church services. Ortega’s government has repeatedly been criticized for its heavy-handed tactics against opposition, including the suppression of protests and arbitrary detentions.
Sources:Christian Post

http://theendtimeradio.com

China/North Korea — According to a new report, China continues to aid North Korea in its relentless persecution of Christians.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently published its findings on the alarming lack of religious freedom in North Korea and China’s role in helping to spur it forward.

“The government of China continues to cooperate with the North Korean government to repatriate North Korean refugees in China, including those who have engaged in religious activities or come in contact with Christian missionaries, despite the risk of torture or other severe punishments upon return,” the statement read.

As North Korea shares a large border with China, many North Koreans flee persecution and travel to China in a desperate attempt to start new lives. It’s a calculated risk that many make, hoping to find human kindness from Christian missionaries or others who will help them before authorities catch them. However, for many of these individuals, life remains bleak. Stories of human trafficking and maltreatment of North Korean refugees at the hands of Chinese authorities and organized crime rings are common.

In North Korea, religious freedoms are grievously scarce. The USCIRF, in its annual report in May, explained that “the North Korean government regards Christians as ‘counterrevolutionaries’ and ‘traitors,’ which are political crimes, who must be eliminated. Possessing a Bible, practicing the faith, and simply being a Christian could lead to severe punishment, including torture, forced labor, imprisonment, and execution.”

The North Korean government views refugees who leave the country as traitors, and if apprehended, these individuals face severe punishments for attempting to flee. In the face of this, Chinese authorities inflict forced deportation upon North Korean refugees without regard to the dangers they face once they are back in North Korea.

In October 2023, the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) in Seoul reported that China forcibly repatriated 600 North Korean refugees, who likely endured concentration camps, imprisonment, and abuse upon their return and have since gone missing. This is in addition to numerous other reports of forced repatriation of North Koreans by the Chinese government.

Barnabas Aid, a Christian advocacy organization, in 2021 detailed the human rights abuses endured by North Korean Christians, exacerbated by Chinese authorities:

“Investigators documented the torture and abuse of North Koreans in China, which took place before they were deported back to their home country, where they were tortured further and sent to brutal “re-education” camps for the ‘crime’ of their Christian faith. The testimonies affirm rumors that the Chinese government cooperates with North Korean authorities to forcibly repatriate those who cross the border.”

In December 2023, a bipartisan group of 15 members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to United Nations High Commissioners Volker Turk and Filippo Grandi denouncing China’s role in the maltreatment of North Korean refugees.

“Many of these refugees are women and children who will face serious human rights abuses when they are sent back to North Korea, including rape, torture, human trafficking, arbitrary detention, forced labor, and execution,” the letter states. “We are concerned that the United Nations … [is] not holding the…People’s Republic of China (PRC) accountable for its violations of commitments to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits signatories from expelling or returning refugees to their home countries where their lives are at risk. The U.N. must call out this blatant violation of the [Communist Chinese Party] (CCP) … This starts with explicitly condemning the CCP and the PRC for its crimes against North Korean refugees instead of attributing refoulement to just ‘third countries.’”
Sources:persecution

http://theendtimeradio.com

ജര്‍മ്മനിയിലെ വിഡേനിൽ വിശുദ്ധ യൗസേപ്പിതാവിന്‍റെ നാമധേയത്തിലുള്ള 58 വര്‍ഷം പഴക്കമുള്ള ദൈവാലയം കത്തിനശിച്ചു. അഗ്നിബാധയുടെ കാരണം വ്യക്തമല്ല.

തീപിടുത്തത്തില്‍ അഞ്ചുലക്ഷം യൂറോയുടെ നാശനഷ്ടം സംഭവിച്ചെന്ന് റിപോര്‍ട്ടുകള്‍ വ്യക്തമാക്കുന്നു. ദേവാലയത്തിന്‍റെ മുകള്‍ വശത്ത് നിന്നാരംഭിച്ച അഗ്നിബാധ സാവധാനം ദേവാലയം മുഴുവന്‍ പടര്‍ന്നു പിടിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു എന്ന് അധികാര വൃത്തങ്ങള്‍ അറിയിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. തങ്ങള്‍ അനുദിനദിവ്യബലിയര്‍പ്പിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരുന്ന ദൈവാലയം ഒറ്റദിവസം കൊണ്ട് കത്തിയമര്‍ന്നതിന്‍റെ ആഘാദത്തിലാണ് ഇടവകാംഗങ്ങളും പ്രദേശവാസികളും. കാത്തോലിക്കാ വിശ്വാസികള്‍ക്ക് മാത്രമല്ല പ്രദേശവാസികളായ പ്രൊട്ടസ്റ്റന്‍റ് വിശ്വാസി സമൂഹവും തങ്ങളുടെ പ്രാര്‍ത്ഥനാസമ്മേളനങ്ങള്‍ സംഘടിപ്പിച്ചിരുന്ന ഒരു നാടിന്‍റെ മുഴുവന്‍ അഭയകേന്ദ്രമായിരുന്ന ദൈവാലയമാണ് നാമാവശേഷമായിരിക്കുന്നത്. 2023 ലും സമാനസംഭവം colgnon അതിരൂപതയിലെ കത്തോലിക്കാ ദൈവാലയത്തിലും സംഭവിച്ചിരുന്നു.
Sources:marianvibes

http://theendtimeradio.com