NIGERIA  Death toll rises in Kano State blasts, attacks foiled in Bauchi State 1.23.12

A series of bomb blasts rocked Bauchi and Kano states in northern Nigeria at the weekend, with the death toll in Kano estimated to be over 185 people
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CUBA  Government backtracks on verbal assurances to grant exit visa to pastor 1.19.12

Pastor Omar Gude Perez has so far been denied a visa to leave Cuba in order to seek asylum the United States (US) despite verbal assurances from Cuban authorities that his application would be approved
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ERITREA  Desperate plight of refugees in Sinai exacerbated by Israeli illegal migrants bill 1.16.12

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is concerned that the desperate plight of refugees and asylum seekers in the Sinai will be exacerbated by the passage of the Illegal Migrants Bill in the Knesset last week, which allows for the arrest and imprisonment of any crossing into Israel
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BURMA  CSW welcomes “significant and positive” prisoner releases 1.13.12

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today welcomed the release of several high-profile political prisoners in Burma, including Min Ko Naing and Ko Mya Aye, leaders of the failed pro-democracy uprising in 1988, and continued to call for the unconditional release of all remaining political prisoners
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IRAN  IRAN Nadarkhani rejects “unconstitutional” terms of release 1.13.12

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has been informed that Pastor Yusuf Nadarkhani recently refused an offer to secure his own release by agreeing to state that the Muslim prophet Mohammed was a messenger sent by God
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NIGERIA  Boko Haram kills four Christians and threatens village attacks 1.12.12

Boko Haram gunmen yesterday shot dead four Igbo Christian men in Potiskum town in Yobe State, and threatened to launch an attack on two nearby villages later that evening
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IRAN  British MPs highlight Nadarkhani case and “appalling” religious freedom violations 1.12.12

In a 90-minute debate on human rights in Iran, Members of Parliament yesterday highlighted the worrying situation of Iranian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and discussed the regime’s systematic denial of the Iranian people’s right to freedom of religion or belief...
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SUDAN  Abyei elder deeply concerned at deteriorating situation in the region 1.11.12

A senior elder from Abyei has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the contested region, which has been occupied by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) since May 2011... 
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NORTH KOREA  World’s major human rights groups deliver open letter to Kim Jong-un urging a new era 1.9.12

The world’s three largest int'l human rights organizations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), along with 40 other organizations from around the world, today released an open letter to Kim Jong-un...(read more)       MORE ON NORTH KOREA

BURMA  CSW welcomes Foreign Secretary’s call for release of political prisoners while recognizing “momentum for change” 1.6.12

As the Foreign Secretary William Hague concludes his visit to Burma today, Christian Solidarity Worldwide welcomes his assessment that although there is “momentum for change” in Burma, that “much more is needed to be done” before EU sanctions are lifted...(read more)      MORE ON BURMA

NIGERIA Boko Haram violence forces indigenous northern Christians to consider relocation 1.6.12

Nigerian Christians from tribes indigenous to Yobe State are increasingly being forced to consider relocating from their ancestral home as a result of the activities of the Boko Haram Islamist militia group...(read more)      MORE ON NIGERIA

PAKISTAN  CSW marks first anniversary of Salmaan Taseer’s killing 1.4.12

One year ago, the Governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Salmaan Taseer, was shot and killed by one of his bodyguards, Mumtaz Qadri, for supporting a Christian blasphemy defendant and criticizing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws...(read more)      MORE ON PAKISTAN

CHINA  CHINA Lawyer Ni Yulan awarded Tulip Prize for human rights defenders 1.4.12

Chinese legal activist, Ni Yulan, has been announced as the winner of the 2011 Dutch Government’s Human Rights Defenders Tulip Prize. She was nominated by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and China Aid...(read more)      MORE ON CHINA

ERITREA  Hostages in Sinai appeal for international help 1.3.12

Thirteen Eritrean hostages who are being held in northern Sinai, close to the Israeli border, have issued a desperate appeal for international intervention after being informed that they would be sold to organ traffickers if an exorbitant ransom is not paid for them...(read more)      MORE ON ERITREA

EGYPT  Anger at manslaughter charges for three soldiers involved in Maspero violence 12.29.11

Three Egyptian soldiers are to stand trial for the manslaughter of 14 of the 27 civilians who died during the violence of October 9, when the Egyptian military attacked a peaceful civil rights demonstration made up largely of members of the Coptic community in Maspero, Cairo...(read more)      MORE ON EGYPT

NIGERIA Estimated 40 dead in Christmas Day attacks in five states 12.26.11

Over 40 people are thought to have died in a series of Christmas Day bomb and gun attacks that targeted churches and members of the security services in five states in northern and central Nigeria. The Islamist militia Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which occurred in Niger, Plateau, Yobe, Adamawa and Borno States...(read more)      MORE ON NIGERIA