Press Releases

• 35 Christians released from prison in Eritrea

  26 July 2018 -

  The 35 released Christians were being held because they belong to unregistered Christian denominations. The group have all signed a document promising not to attend meetings of underground churches. Normally signing a document like this would lead to a prisoner’s release but these 35 Christians signed the document four and a half years ago and have been detained ever since. 

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• Pakistani Christians dismayed at lack of representation in elections

  25 July 2018 -

  Minorities account for about five per cent of the population in Pakistan, but they remain absent from mainstream politics and the country’s minorities – particularly Christians – have expressed dismay at their lack of representation among the candidates.

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• MP takes up cause of persecuted Christians with PM following meeting with local vicar

  20 July 2018 -

  Thanks to an Open Doors supporter the plight of persecuted Christians was raised at PMQs by MP Chris Philp.

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• Facebook post leads to attack on Christian houses and 90 arrests

  19 July 2018 -

  An attack on Christians in a village in Minya, Egypt has left the Coptic community afraid to leave their houses and security forces patrolling the streets.

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• Eritrean teenager imprisoned for his evangelical faith

  17 July 2018 -

  Matthew* was caught by police and sentenced to a military prison while he was still a teenager, because he is an Evangelical Christian in Eritrea. He hopes the end to the war with Ethiopia will lead to true freedom of belief for him and thousands of other Christians in Eritrea. “It was a Sunday and suddenly we were surrounded by security and police,” said Matthew. “First, we were taken to the nearby police station. Then, after a while, to another prison. After staying there for about 40 days, they took me to a military training camp.

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• Open Doors welcomes new Freedom of Religion or Belief lead within government

  06 July 2018 -

  Open Doors welcomes the appointment of Lord Ahmad as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief.Dr Matthew Rees, Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor at Open Doors, said, “Open Doors enthusiastically supports the creation of this role and has been urging for greater government leadership on this issue for many years.

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• Medical care for war-torn countries where there is no NHS

  04 July 2018 -

  As the UK celebrates 70 years of the NHS, Open Doors partners are providing vital medical aid for thousands of sick people in Syria, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access the medical care they need.

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• Mexican pastor shot dead in broad daylight

  02 July 2018 -

  A Mexican pastor has been shot dead in broad daylight in Juarez, Mexico – a city once known as the murder capital of the world. Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Garcia was shot at least six times on 8 June, as he was chased by unidentified assailants believed to be members of the drugs trade.

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• Why there are no Christians on Egypt’s World Cup team

  22 June 2018 -

  Systematic discrimination is preventing Christians from participating in professional sport in Egypt meaning there are no Christians in this year’s World Cup team.

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• Open Doors copywriter in Sermon of the Year final!

  21 June 2018 -

  Open Doors’ Rebecca Coatsworth takes part in the final of the Sermon of the Year competition at London School of Theology (LST) today.

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• Blow the whistle on extreme persecution this World Cup

  14 June 2018 -

  Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mexico and Colombia are all on the Open Doors World Watch List of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian. Christians in these countries are not free to live out their faith without facing persecution – whether that be rejection, isolation, denial of rights and freedom, or even violence.

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• Hope for Christians in North Korea

  12 June 2018 -

  John Choi*, a Christian and a human rights advocate who has escaped from North Korea and now lives in the UK said: ”I hope that if there is economic advancement it will pave the way for more freedom for the people of North Korea, freedom of thought, opportunity and religion. I think this is likely to take 25 to 30 years but I also hope in light of Trump’s comments today it will be much quicker than that.”

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• Why was pastor Koh abducted in a coordinated attack?

  04 June 2018 -

  The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia has resumed its inquiry into the disappearance of the missing pastor, Raymond Koh, who was kidnapped on 13 February last year. Raymond Koh’s abduction, which was caught on CCTV, was conducted with military precision and implies a coordinated attack by trained individuals. At least 10 men in black SUVs blocked a major road during broad daylight and abducted him. He has not been seen since.

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• Christians in Saudi Arabia at greater risk during Ramadan

  31 May 2018 -

  During the Muslim prayer month of Ramadan, the pressure on secret believers in Saudi Arabia is more intense than usual. Ahmed* tells how expectations, especially from family members, can lead to uncomfortable situations and a greater risk to his safety.

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• Churchgoer killed in IS attack in Chechnya

  22 May 2018 -

  So-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for a shooting in a Russian Orthodox Church in Chechnya's capital, Grozny where a church member was killed. Four men broke into the Russian Orthodox Church on Saturday during a service.

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• 8,000 families return to Iraq’s Nineveh plains as houses are rebuilt

  14 May 2018 -

  Over 8,000 Christian families have returned to their villages in the Nineveh Plain in the last two months and nearly 800 houses have been rebuilt. Churches play a key role in encouraging families to return. So Open Doors’ local partners are financially supporting churches as they help those who want to return by giving grants for rebuilding their homes. Thanks to this, 795 houses have been restored in the villages. According to one of Open Doors’ partners, some families are waiting to move home until the end of the school year: “People who are still living in displacement are waiting till the end of the school year in June. So we expect in the summer a rise of the number of returnees.”

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• Brother Andrew, Open Doors founder, celebrates 90th birthday

  09 May 2018 -

  Brother Andrew, the founder of Open Doors, turns 90 on Friday (11 May). Brother Andrew has travelled to more than 125 countries in his life’s work to support persecuted Christians. Brother Andrew earned the nickname God’s Smuggler after he made series of clandestine Bible deliveries behind the iron curtain during the cold war. He narrowly escaped imprisonment many times and had many miraculous near misses with the authorities. He has attended private meetings with the leaders of fundamentalist groups, risking his life to advocate on behalf of persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

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• Death by bureaucracy: the pressure facing the church in Algeria

  02 May 2018 -

  Senior church leaders from Algeria report that the pressure facing Christians is the worst it’s been in recent years. Mustafa Krim, Ali Khidri and Youssef Ourahmane have been in the UK to ask that leaders lobby the Algerian government to stop its current crackdown on the mostly Muslim background church.

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• Nigeria - Christians murdered in Fulani attack ahead of Trump-Buhari meetings today

  30 April 2018 -

  On the eve of Nigeria President Buhari’s meeting with President Trump in Washington 19 Christians have been murdered by Fulani herdsmen in another shocking attack. Christians in Nigeria have asked Open Doors to reinforce the importance of raising the complex issue of Fulani herdsmen violence tearing through the Christian community.

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• Open Doors asks Commonwealth Heads of Government to stop religious persecution

  13 April 2018 -

  As the leaders of the Commonwealth countries gather together for their 25^th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Towards a common future (16-20 April 2018) Open Doors is asking that they put freedom of religion and belief at the heart of their discussions.

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• Chibok won’t celebrate until every one of her daughters has been released

  11 April 2018 -

  Four years ago, few people had heard of the dusty town of Chibok. But that changed on April 14 2014 when Boko Haram stormed the school and abducted 230 of the 275 girls who had gathered to take an exam. Today, half of those girls remain in captivity. During a recent visit, parents told Open Doors partners, for as long as any of the girls remain in captivity, Chibok won’t be celebrating.

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• Dapchi Christian girl held by Boko Haram says she is confident she will see her mother again

  10 April 2018 -

  Almost eight weeks after her capture Leah Sharibu is still being held by Boko Haram. Over 100 of her classmates were captured from their secondary school in Dapchi, Nigeria, and then released on 21 March. However, Leah, the only Christian girl in the group, was not released. Open Doors partners visited her family to support them.

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• Thousands of Christians in Qaraqosh celebrate Palm Sunday for the first time since IS invaded

  26 March 2018 -

  For the first time since so-called Islamic State (IS) drove Christians from Iraq’s Nineveh Plain in 2014, the Christian town of Qaraqosh has celebrated Palm Sunday. On Palm Sunday morning thousands of Iraqi Christians walked through the streets of the ancient town, waving palm and olive branches. Their chorus, “King of kings and Lord of Lords. Glory! Hallelujah!” was heard throughout the entire town.

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• Open Doors holds Yezidi women art exhibition in parliament with artist, Hannah Thomas, and hosted by Caroline Spelman MP

  22 March 2018 -

  Open Doors has teamed up with British artist, Hannah Rose Thomas, to hold an art exhibition in Westminster. This exhibition features moving self-portraits of Yezidi women who are dealing with immense trauma after escaping the self-proclaimed Islamic State, alongside Hannah’s exquisite portraits of the same women.

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• Victims of Fulani violence in Nigeria in desperate need of support

  19 March 2018 -

  Fulani violence continues in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Statistics are hard to ascertain because of the unreliability of government figures and inconsistent witness counts, but Open Doors has recorded at least 32 Fulani-related incidents in 2018 resulting in 350 deaths of mostly Christian villagers. Our partners visited Christians affected by attacks in Taraba State, and found them in desperate need of support.

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