As Christians the world over celebrate the miracle of the Jesus's
birth, there are many for whom this season is a time of tension and
uncertainty, while others languish in prisons around the world, from
Iran to Vietnam, simply because they have chosen to follow their faith.
Around 3,000 Christians are in prison in Eritrea, held without trial in appalling conditions, and suffering threats and beatings simply on account of their faith.
In Iraq, where 52 people died
in Our Lady of Salvation Catholic church in Baghdad when security
forces attempted to free worshippers taken hostage by militants, some
Christian communities have decided against Christmas celebrations, for
fear of attacks by extremist groups.
In Egypt, Christians
gathering in church for Coptic Christmas Eve mass on 7 January will be
acutely aware of the drive-by shooting after mass in Nag Hammadi
just one year ago that claimed the lives of eight Christians and a
Muslim security official, and which was the precursor to further
attacks on Christian communities in the surrounding area.
Christians
in prison for their faith bear the weight of fear and uncertainty
without the comfort of their community around them, and in some cases in
solitary confinement, like Iranian Pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani.
Initially arrested in January after being summoned to Shiraz to explain
church activities, Pastor Khanjani was released on bail in March but
rearrested on 16 June and sent to an infamous political prison, where he
has spent much of his detention in solitary confinement.
He has only
had access to his lawyer once between his arrest and late November,
while his health has deteriorated steadily due to the harsh and
unsanitary conditions in the prison, where Christian prisoners are
reportedly subjected to eight hours of interrogation a day, and some are
kept in cramped conditions where they are unable to sleep.
Pastor
Khanjani is charged with apostasy – leaving Islam, blasphemy and
contact with the enemy, and is facing a possible death sentence.
Also
facing a death sentence is Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani,
who was charged with apostasy on 13 October after questioning the
Muslim monopoly on the religious instruction of children in Iran, which
contravenes the Iranian constitution, under which a parent is permitted
to raise children in their own faith.
The written confirmation of the
court's sentence – the death penalty – was delivered on 13 November. His
appeal is pending.
In Pakistan on 7 November, Asia Bibi,
a Christian, is believed to have become the first woman to be handed a
death sentence for blasphemy under the country's controversial blasphemy
laws, a dubious distinction. She has been in prison since the case
against her was registered in June 2009 and her appeal is pending.
So
far nobody sentenced to death for blasphemy has been executed in
Pakistan; many await a decision on their cases in prison, including Waji
ul-Hassan, a Christian who has been on death row since 2002.
Although
the majority of blasphemy cases are brought against Muslims, for
Christians and other minorities, once an allegation has been made, they
and their family become potential targets for extra-judicial violence.
Christians are not only under pressure in Muslim countries.
In Cuba, for example, members of the Apostolic movement,
a non-denominational group have been subject to official harassment.
Their meeting places have been destroyed and pastors have been subjected
to harassment, eviction from their homes and arbitrary detention. Pastor Omar Gude Pérez
was sent to prison in 2002 for six years on fabricated charges of
"human trafficking."
Even when the charges were dropped in March 2009,
after a court in Camaguey ruled that there was no evidence against him,
Pastor Perez was not released.
He and other leaders in the Apostolic
movement languish in prison on false charges at a time when Cuba has
benefited from the good publicity of releasing some political prisoners
detained since a crackdown on dissidents in 2003.
In China,
despite improvements in religious freedom and greater rapport between
the official Three-Self church and house church network, Alimujiang Yimiti,
a Christian from Xinjiang province convicted in a secret trial in July
2009 of "instigating separatism and revealing state secrets" but who
used to work as a project manager for a British company has, according
to the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention, been detained solely because of his faith.
The
story of Jesus's birth is one of hope, a hope that was swiftly followed
by persecution, as shown by his family's escape to Egypt.
At Christmas,
God came to live with humanity, to unite us with Him and to faithfully
accompany us through all of life's seasons, good and bad.
Some can
celebrate this hope openly, surrounded by family and friends.
However,
others will celebrate in secret, in prison, perhaps even in solitary
confinement – but never truly alone.
SIC: TG/UK