Global state harassment of Christians revealed

Christians experienced high levels of harassment from governments around the world in 2019, a new report has found.

The report by US think tank Pew Research Center found cases in 128 countries out of a total of 198 including territories.

Across all religions, 57 countries experienced ‘high’ or ‘very high’ levels of government restrictions.

Findings

Pew’s report also considered online restrictions placed by governments on different religious groups.

The report highlighted how the two main internet providers in the United Arab Emirates – controlled by the government – blocked websites with information on Christianity and sites displaying testimonies from Muslim converts to Christianity.

I know how to deal with these infidels

It later remarked how in Pakistan “a Christian suspect in a theft case was tortured while in police custody and died a few hours after being released. The victim’s brother reported that one of the police officers who arrested the man said, ‘I know how to deal with these infidels.’”

Truro report

Earlier this year, the UK Government said it was on track to accomplish the recommendations set out in the Bishop of Truro’s 2019 report on supporting persecuted Christians by 2022.

The report called on the Government to sanction countries that persecute Christians and introduce mandatory religious literacy training for Foreign Office staff.

Former Minister of State at the Foreign Office, Nigel Adams MP, confirmed the Government’s expectations in written responses to questions from MPs.

He said: “Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022.”