Laos

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Four church leaders and another Christian detained in southern Laos have been charged with "murder" because they prayed for a woman who embraced Christianity shortly before she died, a well-informed source told BosNewsLife Thursday, June 26.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Three Christian pastors have been jailed in southern Laos for spreading Christianity, their supporters told BosNewsLife Thursday, February 7. The jailed Christians, who lead evangelical congregations in Savannakhet province, were identified as Pastor Bounma of Alowmai Village Church in Phin district, Pastor Somkaew of Kengsainoi Village Church in Phin district, and Pastor Bounmee of Savet Village Church, in Sepon district.

(ADDS MORE CASES OF FORCED RITUALS, BACKGROUND) By BosNewsLife Asia Service VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Authorities in southern Laos pressure three jailed pastors and other Christians to participate in occult rituals and recant their faith in Jesus Christ, a religious advocacy group said Thursday, October 18.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Scores of terrified villagers faced starvation in the jungles of Laos on Sunday, February 27, after they were driven from their village at gunpoint for refusing to give up Christianity in this predominantly Buddhist nation, residents and rights activists said.

By BosNewsLife News Center with BosNewsLife's Senior Special Correspondent Johan Th. Bos reporting from the Netherlands AMSTERDAM/WASHINGTON D.C. (BosNewsLife)-- One of the world's largest mission agencies, Open Doors, named North Korea and Iran Wednesday, November 6, as "the worst persecutors of Christians".

By BosNewsLife Asia Service VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Several Christian families in southern Laos face imminent expulsion from their homes if they refuse to recant their faith in Jesus Christ, an advocacy group assisting them told BosNewsLife Tuesday, August 8.  

(ADDS REPORTS ABOUT EXPELLED CHRISTIANS FROM HOME) By BosNewsLife Asia Service with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos VIENTIIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Police in northern Laos have detained a pastor "for attracting people to the Christian faith" as part of a wider crackdown on evangelism in the region, a representative told BosNewsLife Saturday, June 9.

By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- An influential house church leader is jailed in Laos for more than half a year and he may be killed as authorities fear the spread of Christianity in the region where he has been working, an advocacy group said Friday, April 16.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Five Christians accused of "murdering" a Christian convert and organizing an illegal funeral for her in southern Laos were found "not guilty by prosecutors, but authorities refused to release them, a rights official told BosNewsLife Thursday, July 7.

By BosNewsLife Asua Service VIENTIANE, LAOS (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in a village in southern Laos were without a place of worship Thursday, February 23, after authorities "confiscated" their 37-year-old church building as part of a wider crackdown on local congregations in the region, representatives told BosNewsLife.