Last month the Burmese military launched a new offensive against the mainly Christian Kachin, an ethnic group in northern Burma. The assault included several days of shelling followed by an aerial attack. It is not clear how many people were killed or wounded.
PRISONER ALERT REMINDER: Haile Nayzgi
During the early morning hours of May 23, 2004, Haile Nayzgi was arrested and taken to Police Station #1 in Asmara. He was the leader of Eritrea's Full Gospel Church, which is comprised of 120 to 150 house meeting groups. The church groups were closed by government decree at a meeting with a government official on May 15, 2003. At that time the church groups were given an application form for government registration. The Full Gospel Church filled out the form and returned it to the appropriate offices, but no reply was ever received.
Haile is married and has four children. He was previously an accountant with World Evangelical Alliance. During his incarceration, Haile has been refused any personal contact with his family. When family and friends went to take food and clothing to the prison for Haile on August 24, 2004, they were told that he was no longer there. Mr.Nayzgi has been moved to various locations since his arrest, but the actual charges against him have not been released.
After Haile went to prison, his wife and children decided to flee Eritrea. His wife is in Kharthoum, but his children were only able to reach a border town between Sudan and Eritrea. Because of fear of human traffickers, they have not been able to travel to Khartoum.View Fact Sheet (PDF)
PRISONER ALERT REMINDER: Alimujiang Yimiti
In September 2007 Chinese government officials closed Alimujiang Yimiti's business and accused him of using it as a cover up for "preaching Christianity among people of Uyghur ethnicity." He was later arrested in January 2008 and accused of "subversion of the national government and endangering national security," a crime punishable by death.
Alimujiang, a former Muslim, became a Christian more than 10 years ago and has been an active Christian in the growing Uyghur church.
On May 27, Alimujiang's case went to trial. His case was referred back to the Chinese Public Security Bureau's prosecutors due to "insufficient evidence." He remains in custody.
View Fact Sheet (PDF)
Folks, V.O.M. has literally thousands of these fact sheets, cases that have been developing for years. While we sit in our quiet little world, people are suffering around the globe. Please do what you can help. Get involved in some way. V.O.M. is a worthwhile organization. They are helping people.
Thanks.
A Voice of the Martrys Volunteer