Egypt: Coptic children released after initial arrest for 'insulting Islam'
In the wake of the high-profile case of Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old Pakistani Christian girl arrested for allegedly blaspheming the Qur'an, two Coptic Christian boys face similar accusations in Egypt this week. Nabil Nagy Rizk, 10, and Mina Nady Farag, 9, were arrested Wednesday for insulting Islam, but the attorney general ordered both boys to be released the next day ‘due to their young age.’ Both families agreed to return to court for questioning, but the boys
previously had been placed in a juvenile detention centre to await their hearing on Sunday. The village imam accused the children of tearing up pages of the Qur'an. Other reports say the boys also urinated on the pages, but the police chief said no one witnessed this incident. According to Ahram Online, Nabil's father Nagy Rizk says the boys are illiterate and did not know the content of the papers which they found in a bag near a pile of street trash.
Pray: for the protection of vulnerable young people from apparent false accusations. (Ex.20:16)
More: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2012/10/coptic_children.html
Egypt: President Mursi pardons 'revolutionaries'
Egypt's President, Mohammed Mursi, has pardoned all those arrested since the beginning of last year's popular uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak. A post on the president's official Facebook page announced an amnesty for crimes and misdemeanours committed ‘in support of the revolution’. The decree could lead to the release of several thousand people. The ‘comprehensive pardon’ announced by the new president on Monday applies to anyone who was charged with or convicted of ‘crimes and misdemeanours or attempts to commit them in support of the revolution and the realisation of its goals’. The pardon applies to all those arrested from 25 January 2011, the first day of the revolution, until 30 June 2012, when Mr Mursi took office. It covers those who are awaiting trial as well as those already serving jail sentences. The only exception will be those accused of murder.
Pray: that this amnesty will help to establish justice for all. (Lev.19:15)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19877428
Iran: Christians are persecuted even in cyber space
What can be concluded from increased cyber-attacks on Mohabat News website is its effectiveness in spreading news and influence across the Iranian community. However, it seems that along with development of technology, Christian persecution, especially the persecution of Iranian Christians by the Islamic regime of Iran and Islamists, has adopted a new shape and form, reports Iranian Christian news agency, Mohabat News. Mohabat News is a key voice of the Farsi-speaking Christian community, launched on December 9, 2010 with the primary objective of disseminating news on Christians all around the world in both Farsi and English. The website, however, was blocked by the Islamic regime's security officials two months after it was launched. Since then many attempts have been undertaken to silence Mhabat News, three of these attempts by the cyber services staff of the Islamic Republic.
Pray: that the voice for Farsi-speaking Christians will not be silenced but be set free. (1Cor.2:13)
More: http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue17616.html
Nigeria: Army 'opens fire on civilians' in Maiduguri
Nigerian troops have opened fire and burnt buildings in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, reportedly killing 30 civilians. The shootings came after a bomb blast targeting the army had injured two soldiers. On Sunday, the army said it killed 30 Boko Haram members in another north-eastern city, Damaturu. Eyewitnesses in Maiduguri said soldiers began to indiscriminately open fire on residents and set fire to homes and businesses. An Associated Press reporter in the city reportedly counted 30 bodies and 50 buildings that had been set ablaze. Unnamed nurses at the local Umaru Shehu Hospital were quoted by Reuters News Agency as saying that 30 bodies in civilian clothes had been brought in, with a further five corpses in military uniforms. ‘Initially, soldiers that came after the explosion harassed residents, whipping them,’ one person told AFP News Agency. ‘But later they went on a shooting spree and started setting homes and shops on fire.’
Pray: for peace across this nation that those who kill and maim from each side be stopped and that peace would reign. (Ps.34:14)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19875391
