Today’s Martyrs 2014-06-29 through 2014-07-05

Algeria Cala (aged 26, convert, forced to observe the Ramadan fast by her father) Sirah (convert, said "My family puts tremendous pressure on me during Ramadan. They always insist that I have to fast, although they know that I converted to Christ. It is as if they refuse to admit that I became a Christian") Date: July 3, 2014 Source: https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2014/07/article_3208248.html/

Argentina Archbishop Hector Aguer (condemned a video advertisement for a gay bar that was surreptitiously recorded inside the cathedral and which mocked the sacraments) Date: July 2, 2014 Location: La Plata Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/gay-bar-films-ad-in-argentinean-cathedral- archbishop-calls-it-an-abominatio

Bangladesh Balsree Chambugong (aged 8, disabled, niece of Fr Biolen Chambugong, raped by a 25-year old Muslim neighbor who is now in custody, hospitalized) Fr Biolen Chambugong (uncle of Balsree Chambugong) Fr Shimon Hacha (said "Christian Women and girls are not safe in their homes. We need security from the local authorities") Date: June 27, 2014 Location: Mariamnagar, Sherpur district Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bangladesh,-Catholics-protest:-No-impunity-for-the- rapist-of-an-8-year-old-girl-31517.html

Central African Republic Bishop Edouard Mathos (UPDATE: called for humanitarian aid for the 12,000 people who have taken refuge in the cathedral from Seleka fighters) Date: July 1, 2014 Location: Bambari Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/36002- AFRICA_CENTRAL_AFRICA_Twelve_thousand_refugees_in_the_Cathedral_of_Bam bari_the_Bishop_s_appeal_to_Fides#.U7N7mMLQcfg

China Ma Jiawen (husband of Li Jiatao, father of two, church missionary) Li Jiatao (wife of Ma Jiawen, mother of two, detained by police without warrant) Huang Quirui (church elder, detained by police without warrant) Date: June 24, 2014 Location: Liuzhou, Guangdong province Source: http://www.chinaaid.org/2014/06/house-church-members-taken-into-custody.html Xiang Youquan (church leader, detained along with eleven other Christians - including his wife, daughter and son-in-law - from a house church after police found that their hymnal was also used by the Born Again Movement cult, has filed for administrative reconsideration of the charges) Dates: May 9 and June 23, 2014 Zhang Peihong (attorney, defending Xiang Youquan, twice stopped by police) Date: May 14, 2014 Location: Liupanshui, Guizhou province Source: http://www.chinaaid.org/2014/07/guizhou-believers-submit-administrative.html Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-Kium SBD (UPDATE: said that the government is unlikely to heed the call of 800,000 people who voted in the nonbinding pro-democracy referendum) Rev Chu Yiu-ming (pro-democracy referendum leader) Date: July 2, 2014 Location: Hong Kong Source [with photo]: http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/cardinal-zen-doubts-hong-kong- cry-for-full-democracy-will-be-heeded-25387 Pastor Zhang Shaojie (husband of Wang Fengrui, met with police on November 16, 2013 at his registered church; charged with "fraud" and "disturbing public order" due to his continuing conflict against government expropriation of church property; UPDATE: convicted, sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and fined US$16,113) Date: July 4, 2014 Location: Nanle county, Henan province Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Protestant-pastor-gets-12-years-for-opposing-the- seizure-of-church-land-31540.html and [with photo]: http://www.chinaaid.org/2014/07/court-sentences-three-self-pastor-to-12.html Gong Shengliang (aged 62 in 2014, father of Gong Huali, serving a sentence of life imprisonment since 2001 for "assault"; has suffered a stroke in prison on December 2, 2012; UPDATE: health is "rapidly deteriorating") Date: July 4, 2014 Location: Hankou Prison, Hubei Source: http://www.bosnewslife.com/33219-breaking-news-china-pastor-gongs-health- deteriorating-in-prison-bosnewslife-in-depth

Colombia Bishop Hernan Giraldo Jaramillo (spoke on the rising number of internally displaced persons due to guerrilla war "In less than a week 14 lands have been occupied by displaced persons and there have been violent conflict amongst the population where a person has died. In a city of 125,000 residents, there are over 10,000 displaced people who need assistance in everything") Date: June 28, 2014 Location: Magangue Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/35985- AMERICA_COLOMBIA_IDPs_are_increasing_the_Church_appeals_to_the_authorities _to_resolve_the_crisis#.U6-LY8LQcfg

Egypt Sameh Manassa (aged 30, farmland seized, threatened with death) Date: June 24, 2014 Location: Rahmaniyah village, Nag Hammadi, Qena province Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55254#.U6-QKsLQcfg Atif Nadi (brother arrested after an attack on Copts) Date reported: June 28, 2014 Location: Nazlet Ebeid village, Minya province Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55251#.U6-QtcLQcfg Abram Lewis (Association of Victims of Abductions and Forced Disappearances, UPDATE: reported on the arrest of three Copts for reporting the abduction of a female relative) Date: June 28, 2014 Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55249#.U6-Rj8LQcfg Abanoub Salama Mounir (aged 20, abducted on June 26, 2014, US$42,000 ransom demanded; UPDATE: ransom paid, released) Date: June 30, 2014 Location: Tendh village, Minya province Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55304#.U7IlrcLQcfg Atif Gamil Sharmoukh (prevented from entering his father's farmland by neighbors at gunpoint) Date: June 30, 2014 Location: Kafr el-Dawar, Beheira Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55300#.U7ImQsLQcfg Saad Boshra Ayad Hanna (home seized by "thugs" in January 2011, police have still taken no action) Date: June 30, 2014 Location: Samalout, Minya province Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55299#.U7InbsLQcfg Malak Zaghloul (aged 35, merchant, abducted at gunpoint) Date: June 30, 2014 Location: Nag Hammadi Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55298#.U7IniMLQcfg Rania Rafaat (aged 17, abducted on May 2, 2013, found recently, had been raped, is pregnant) Date: June 30, 2014 Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55294#.U7IoBsLQcfg Kyrillos (son of Adel Abdel-Malak, abducted January 2014, ransom paid, not returned) Adel Abdel-Malak (father of 'young' Kyrillos, paid a US$17,000 ransom, son not returned) Date reported: July 2, 2014 Location: Toho village Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55337#.U7TgqMLQcfg Bishop Makarios (UPDATE: stated “The marches the Muslim Brotherhood organized few days ago and yesterday threatened to target a number of churches on the 1st anniversary of Morsi’s ouster. Moreover, they wrote sentences on walls inciting against Christians”) Date: July 3, 2014 Location: Minya Source: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=55361#.U7Y5M8LQcfg

India Auxiliary Bishop Savio Fernandes (called a state parliament member a "thug" after he threatened to send his agents to kill his political opponents and rape their wives) Date: July 2, 2014 Location: West Bengal state Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Catholic-Bishop:-A-politician-who-incites-rape-is-a- thug-that-discredits-India-31513.html

Indonesia Fr Priya (described an attack on his church during morning Mass, banners ripped down) Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Pugeran, Yogyakarta, Java Pastor Niko (accused of setting up an illegal house of worship) Date: early June, 2014 Location: Yogyakarta, Java Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Yogyakarta,-to-cries-of-Allah-is-great-unknown- assailants-attack-Sacred-Heart-parish-31488.html

Iran Pastor Behnam Irani (beaten in his prison cell by VEVAK intelligence agents on June 7, 2014, transferred to an unknown location; UPDATE: returned to prison) Date: June 27, 2014 Location: Karaj Source: http://www.christianpersecution.info/index.php?view=16482 Vahid Hakkani (convert; UPDATE: has begun another hunger strike for conditional release for himself and two other prisoners, has been moved to another ward where he is being treated harshly) Mojtaba Seyyed-Alaedin Hosseini (convert; UPDATE: conditional release sought by fellow prisoner Vahid Hakkani) Homayoon Shokoohi-Gholamzadeh (convert, husband of Fariba Nazemian; UPDATE: conditional release sought by fellow prisoner Vahid Hakkani) Date: June 23, 2014 Location: Adel-Abad prison Source [with photo]: http://mohabatnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8843:christia n-prisoner-in-iran-goes-on-hunger-strike-again-&catid=36:iranian- christians&Itemid=279

Iraq Amer Bahman (aged 52, father of Andy and Amanda, said that Christians have begun to return to their villages in Kurdistan) Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Hamdaniya Source: http://www.aina.org/news/20140629141558.htm Ramy Youssef (IT technician, plans on leaving the country after fleeing Bagdad due to death threats "I don't want to leave. I don't want these terrorists to do what no one's ever done before: push Assyrians out of our historic homeland, but I can't work like this...This is America's fault. It's the Muslims who are killing us, but this never would have happened if the West hadn't turned our lives upside down") Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Erbil, Kurdistan Ashur Giwargis (head of the Assyrian Patriotic Movement, said "Russia proved through history that it's the only defender of Christians...we're looking for a serious Russian stand in the international arena") Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Beirut, Lebanon Aziz Emmanuel al-Zebari (Chaldean Catholic church official, said "The West is not Christian. They destroyed us by installing a government based on Islamic sects in which we have no place") Date: May 29, 2014 Location: Erbil, Kurdistan Source: http://www.aina.org/news/20140629035404.htm Yonadam Kanna (member of parliament, has been working to secure help to protect Christians threatened by the ISIL insurgents "We're trying to stop those bloody guys. I'm not confident we can. They are aggressive and have heavy weapons. We only have a few Kalashnikovs") Date: June 27, 2014 Location: Bagdad Source: http://www.aina.org/news/20140626195707.htm Event: five Christians including two nuns have disappeared in an ISIL held area Sr Miskintah Sr Utoor Joseph Hala Salim Sarah Khoshaba Aram Sabah Date: June 28, 2014 Location: Mosul Source: http://www.aina.org/news/20140630153011.htm Radi Yusef (husband of Hana, father, fled from the ISIL militants) Hana (wife of Radi Yusef, mother, fled from the ISIL militants) Date: July 1, 2014 Location: Alqosh Source: http://www.aina.org/news/20140701160530.htm Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako (UPDATE: appealed for the release of the abducted nuns and orphans in Mosul) Date: July 1, 2014 Location: Bagdad Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/36003- ASIA_IRAQ_Patriarch_Louis_Raphael_I_Sako_s_appeal_for_the_release_of_the_abduc ted_nuns_and_orphans#.U7N42cLQcfg Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako (UPDATE: wrote an essay on "the situation in Iraq...Are we heading towards a civil war? God forbid, but everything seems to be pointing in that direction...We take this opportunity to renew our heartfelt thanks to all the people of good will, who are working on our behalf, and to all the faithful who are praying for us and who are close to us at this particularly difficult time") Date published: July 2, 2014 Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/For-Chaldean-Patriarch,-Iraq-is-moving-towards-civil- war-whilst-politicians-are-only-interested-in-oil-31511.html Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona (UPDATE: reported that the Air Force has begun bombing ISIL targets in the city, which is causing thousands more to flee, also reported that there is no news regarding the missing nuns and orphans) Date: July 3, 2013 Location: Mosul Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/36016- ASIA_IRAQ_Bombings_and_raids_against_churches_in_Mosul_for_the_release_of_the _nuns_and_orphans#.U7YwHMLQcfg

Ireland Niamh Uí Bhriain (Life Institute, commented on the government's upcoming abortion regulations "We heard endless calls for clarity last year in regard to abortion and medical treatments when the abortion bill was being pushed through the Dail and Seanad. Yet any debate on the reality of what this abortion act would bring about was always shouted down by the government and their allies in the media. Where is the clarity in these guidelines in relation to protecting mothers and babies? The reality is that this legislation allows for abortion until birth, yet when the question of late term abortion was raised in the Dail during the debate last year, this reality was ignored") Claire Moore (Youth Defence, said that Prime Minister Enda Kenny had bullied and persuaded politicians to support the Abortion Act by insisting it was restrictive and would not result in abortions taking place, but the guidelines prove otherwise "The guidelines are a long time being published, because the government understands this is a contentious issue, and are afraid to spell out the reality if what their act entails - including the particularly dreadful horror of late-term abortion") Date: July 4, 2014 Location: Dublin Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-irish-guidelines-allow-abortion-up-to-birth-pro- life-group

Israel Fr David Neuhaus, SJ (condemned the murder of three rabbinical students) Date: July 1, 2014 Location: Jerusalem Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/36004- ASIA_HOLY_LAND_Father_David_Neuhaus_SJ_sorrow_and_grief_over_the_killing_ of_the_three_teens_it_is_necessary_to_put_an_end_to_the_cycle_of_violence#.U7TXf8 LQcfg Patriarch Fouad Twal (UPDATE: condemned the murder of a 16-year old Palestinian boy in apparent retaliation for the murder of the three rabbinical students, said "...innocent people who are killed, all the children killed, are victims sacrificed on the diabolical altars of hatred. We pray for the parents and families of all these young people kidnapped and killed") Date: July 2, 2014 Location: Jerusalem Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/36010- ASIA_HOLY_LAND_A_young_Palestinian_kidnapped_and_killed_Patriarch_Twal_Sto p_human_sacrifice#.U7TYUcLQcfg

Laos Varn (friend of Mrs Chen, under pressure to renounce the faith by authorities who threaten to seize her land and expel her from the village) Date: July 3, 2014 Location: Saisomboon village, Savannakhet province Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/36015- ASIA_LAOS_Pressures_on_behalf_of_the_authorities_over_a_Christian_woman_to_abj ure_faith#.U7YyX8LQcfg

Nigeria Emmanuel Adamu (described two attacks by Muslims “They came around 10 last night and started killing people in Nandu village. They killed 19 people there. We first thought they were unknown gun men only to later discover that they were Fulani. The youths were able to capture two of the attackers. One of them is dead, while the one alive has been taken to a hospital in Jos. Then around 2am, they attacked Karshi village, close to Gwantu, our LGA headquarters. I was informed that 21 people were killed. Many were injured, I cannot tell you the number now, but I have directed that the victims should be treated in good hospitals in Jos”, total deaths in Kobin and all seven Ninzom villages reportedly totaled 283) Dates: June 24-25, 2014 Source: http://www.osundefender.org/?p=174773 Mallam Yahi (described a suspected Islamist attack "They killed dozens of people and burned houses after attacking worshippers", added that four churches were burned) Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Kwada and Kautikari villages Source: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/gunmen-torch-churches-kill-scores-nigeria Samuel Chibok (attack survivor, described how 20 men sprayed bullets at panicking church worshipers “Initially I thought they were military but when I came out, they were firing at people. I saw people fleeing and they burned our houses. Smoke was billowing from our town as I left”, added that two of his relatives were among the dead) Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Kautikiri Source: http://www.osundefender.org/?p=174953 Blessing Lazarus (aged 28, wounded in the hand in a Boko Haram hotel bombing that killed 13 and wounded 34) Date: June 27, 2014 Location: Bauchi Source [warning - graphic]: http://www.osundefender.org/?p=175286 Pastor Emmanuel Bauchi (killed in a Boko Haram attack on his church) Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Kwada village Source: https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2014/07/article_3206300.html/ James Yama (father of Jinkai, said "As far as we are concerned, not an inch of progress has been achieved since the day our daughters were taken away...we haven't seen anything tangible because no girl has been rescued, those who reunited with their families fled on their own. Personally, the abduction of my daughter and the events that followed demoralised my family. We no longer sleep in our houses, we no longer go to farms. My wife is now battling with blood pressure and we have to take her to hospital every week for medical attention. Even the clamour in the media has faded and we are left on our own. These days, you hardly hear anything 'Chibok' which signifies that our predicament has been overtaken by events") Jinkai (aged 19, schoolgirl, daughter of James Yama, abducted by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014) Shettima Haruna (father of Margaret Shettima, said "It is like there is deception in the so-called rescue effort because no girl has been brought back, we feel something is significantly wrong somewhere") Margaret Shettima (aged 18, schoolgirl, daughter of Shettima Haruna, abducted by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014) Markus John (vigilante, said that if nothing is done soon the schoolgirls will never be recovered) Mr Mutai Hona (two daughters abducted, died shortly after watching the Boko Haram video of the abducted schoolgirls) Habu Balla (said "There are Muslims and Christians in Chibok and all the affected villages and therefore, the challenges confronting us should be seen beyond religious, tribal or ethnic lines. We are now living in fear...because there is no security presence and as you are aware, most of the villages around have been attacked and destroyed by insurgents") Date: July 3, 2014 Location: Mbalala Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201407030967.html?viewall=1

North Korea Jeffrey Edward Fowle (U.S. citizen, arrested in mid May 2014 for "hostile activities" after leaving a Bible in his hotel room; UPDATE: will be put on trial for 'perpetrating hostile acts against the state') Date: June 30, 2014 Source: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/north.korea.us.tourist.to.go.on.trial.after.leaving.bi ble.in.hotel.room/38507.htm

Pakistan Jabar Masih (cooked rice store owner, threatened with death or the closure of his business if he does not convert to Islam) Date: June 28, 2014 Location: Nahla ghetto, Lahore Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/35982- ASIA_PAKISTAN_Discrimination_and_violence_against_a_Christian_businessman_thr eatened_by_Islamic_extremists#.U6-NCcLQcfg Mansha Masih (illiterate street sweeper, accused of desecration after sweeping up Quran pages left in the street, badly beaten, rescued by a Muslim human rights activist) Date reported: June 28, 2014 Location: Hajweri town, Faisalabad Source: http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/a-young-christian-street-sweeper-barely-escapes- blasphemy-accusation/ Dr Nazir S Bhatti (UPDATE: criticized the government for pressuring Sri Lanka into refusing entry to Pakistani Christians claiming asylum from persecution) Date: June 28, 2014 Source: http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=4909 Farrukh H Saif (World Vision in Progress Foundation; UPDATE: described the efforts of the government to halt the exodus of Christians from the country "More than 1000 Pakistani Christians were illegally removed from their confirmed flights from Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore airports", also described the detention and planned deportation of Christian refugees in Sri Lanka "This action was against basic international norms and principles which state that the host country receiving such refugees cannot arrest anyone who is registered with UN High Commissioner Refugees unless a specific request in sent via Interpol...The action of by the Sri-Lankan authorities was therefore illegal under international law. It seems that something sinister might be taking place behind the scenes to ensure that Pakistani asylum seekers are deported back to their country of origin...According to our own survey there are 14,000 Pakistani Christian asylum seekers in East Asia and South Asia") Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Islamabad Source: http://www.bosnewslife.com/33183-pakistan-halts-christian-exodus-sri-lanka-detains- refugees Asia Noreen Bibi (mother of five incarcerated on blasphemy charges since November 2010 after death sentence; UPDATE: Muslim human rights activist Akeel Ali Mehdi said "We strongly condemn the attitude of the judiciary. Bibi has suffered enough, as has her family. It is time for justice to be done, and she should receive the necessary care. The courts must immediately address her case") Fr Ilyas John (confirmed that Asia Noreen Bibi's physical and psychological health is declining) Date: July 3, 2014 Location: Lahore Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/As-Asia-Bibi's-health-worsens,-Christian-and-Muslim- activists-call-for-her-release-31525.html Liaquat Munawar Masih (UPDATE: called on authorities to protect Christians after local Muslims bulldozed their ghetto's security wall, which had been erected in 2012 after a number of acts of extortion, torture, and murder) Date: June 26, 2014 Location: Essa Nagri colony [ghetto], Karachi, Sindh province Source: http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=4912 Fr John Victor OFM (had helped Christians build a security wall around their ghetto in 2012, the wall was recently demolished by Islamists) Peter Noman (human rights activist, denounced the absence of the police while terrorists have begun to move into the Christian ghetto) Date: July 3, 2014 Location: Essa Nagri colony [ghetto]. Karachi Source: http://www.fides.org/en/news/36013- ASIA_PAKISTAN_Terrorist_groups_settle_in_the_Christian_area_of_Essa_Nagri_in_K arachi#.U7YxIMLQcfg

Sudan Fr Kuoa Shimal (UPDATE: described the demolition of a church by the government) Date: June 30, 2014 Dr Meriam Yahia Ibrahim (aged 27, wife of Daniel Wani, mother of Martin and Maya Wani, UPDATE: gave an interview from the U.S. Embassy which included a description of the birth of her daughter Maya and their re-arrest at the airport "I was only thinking about my children and how I was going to give birth. I was mostly scared of giving birth in prison...I gave birth chained. Not cuffs but chains on my legs. I couldn't open my legs so the women had to lift me off the table. I wasn't attached to the table" added that Maya may have been injured during birth "I don't know in the future whether she'll need support to walk or not", also is now the object of a lawsuit by her supposed Muslim relatives who are seeking to block her from leaving the country) Maya Wani (UPDATE: injured while being born in prison) Date: July 2, 2014 Location: Khartoum Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/A-new-problem-every-day-for-Mariam-Ibrahim- 31514.html and: http://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFL6N0PD4B320140702

Ukraine Archpriest Nikolai Fomenko (UPDATE: described pro-government shelling of the cathedral during the Divine Liturgy “Shelling began at 10 AM during the Liturgy. The parishioners had just started singing “Our Father”, when the first volley was fired...When the shelling began, everybody rushed into the church. The cathedral was packed with people; the worshippers were kneeling and praying to God with tears. Several stained glass windows fell from the dome and broke because of the shock wave, and this made the people pray more fervently. The volleys lasted for about half an hour...During the first strike I was just holding the Body of Christ in my hands. It is such a stressed state – you are holding the Sacrament and suddenly such things are happening") Date: June 29, 2014 Location: Sloviansk Source: http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/71874.htm Metropolitan Onuphry (sent a letter to the country's president complaining of attempted church arsons, media misrepresentations of church positions, and added “We are especially concerned about the fact that on June 22, 2014, a large number of armed people with aggressive behavior gathered near the Kiev Caves Lavra. All this looked like an attempt of seizure of the Lavra”) Date: June 27, 2014 Locations: Kiev Source [with photo]: http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/71927.htm

United Kingdom Victoria Wasteney (occupational therapist, disciplined for praying for the health of a Muslim co- worker despite the co-worker agreeing to her prayer and despite a witness testifying he was pressured into making a statement against her, said "I fear I may have been entrapped by a colleague who encouraged me to discuss my faith, who willingly agreed that I could pray for her and who even accepted an invitation to a church charity event...There is undoubtedly a pattern of inequality of treatment of Christians and Muslims in the NHS. Regardless of allocated break times, Muslim staff can pray five times a day, which I am not objecting to, but Christians are often denied time off on Sundays or permission to take breaks during their lunchtime for prayer or religious worship") Date: July 1, 2014 Location: East London Source [with photo]: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/christian-nhs-manager- suspended-for-praying-with-muslim-colleague Colin Hart (The Christian Institute, is fighting the new Scottish law that appoints a Named Person to supervise and secretly meet with every child "The same state bodies will be involved in looking at all these families where there’s no issue at all. So instead of finding that needle in the haystack [of cases where outside intervention is genuinely required] they’re actually making the haystack much bigger. And that’s going to make it much more difficult to find the vulnerable children”) Aidan Quinn (attorney for The Christian Institute, wrote "It would appear that the role which the Scottish Government envisages for the Named Person is one which might be thought to cut across and directly impact upon the rights and responsibilities of parents in relation to their own children, which are fundamental rights recognized within the legal order, notably under and in terms of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights”) Date: July 2, 2014 Location: Edinburgh Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/christian-charity-battles-scottish-law-assigning-a- state-official-to-every

United States - Oklahoma Archbishop Paul Coakley (criticized the city for allowing a Black Mass at the Civic Center) Date: July 2, 2014 Location: Oklahoma City Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archbishop-coakley-asks-okla-civic-center- to-reconsider-black-mass-51554/

Uzbekistan Dmitry Chaplin (fined US$4,200 for leading a worship service in a private home) Date reported: June 26, 2014 Event: police raid two private homes, Bibles, books, and cell phones seized Galina Sirotina (home raided during a religious service, fined US$2,100) Ella Tsoy (present during the raid on the home of Galina Sirotina, fined US$840) Fatima Kim (present during the raid on the home of Galina Sirotina, own home later raided, fined US$2,100) Fiala Kim (present during the raid on the home of Galina Sirotina, own home later raided, fined US$840) Lyubov Fomina (fined US$840) Yelena Pavlenko (fined US$840) Dates: April 24 and June 18, 2014 Location: Samarkand Event: three fined US$210 for unauthorized religious activity Dilorom Norova (mother of Sherzod Rakhimov) Sherzod Rakhimov (son of Dilorom Norova) Elnnora Maksutova (UPDATE: fined) Date: January 16, 2014 Location: Bukhara Event: four fined US$210 for teaching religious beliefs without specialized religious education Dilorom Rakhamatova (secondary school teacher, fined, called to the police station several times in February and March 2014, called before a meeting of 80 fellow teachers and belittled for her faith) Sanobar Bikmullina (fined) Dilbar Muminova (secondary school teacher, mother of Oybek Khasanov, fined, called to the police station several times in February and March 2014, called before a meeting of 80 fellow teachers and belittled for her faith) Oybek Khasanov (son of Dilbar Muminova, fined) Date: January 23, 2014 Location: Bukhara Source: http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1974

Vietnam Francis Xavier Dang Xuan Dieu (UPDATE: still in prison, denied a family visit, has started a hunger strike) Ha (elder brother of Francis Xavier Dang Xuan Dieu, sought help from Fr Vincent Pham Trung Than) Fr Vincent Pham Trung Than CSSR (described his order's support for the family of Francis Xavier Dang Xuan Dieu) Date: June 11, 2014 Locations: Ho Chi Minh City and K3 barrack, Camp N. 5, Yên Dinh, Thanh Hoa province Source: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Saigon:-Redemptorists-praying-for-the-release-of- Catholic-activist-Jang-Xuan-Dieu-31490.html Pastor Nguyen Manh Hung (described the attack on Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and his Bible students, 20 of whom were seriously injured) Date: June 9, 2014 Location: My Phuoc, Binh Duong province Source: http://morningstarnews.org/2014/06/christians-in-vietnam-church-center-beaten-locked- up-in-massive-raid-2/

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