ICC Note: A Christian leader in Nepal was attacked by six to eight unidentified assailants while at a café in Kathmandu. While being beaten, the assailants threatened to bomb churches and shoot Christian leaders. This attack comes after a series of attacks on Christians in Nepal. Since May 2018, Nepali Christians have suffered a series of church bombings, assaults on Christian leaders, and false criminal charges.

08/01/2018 Nepal (Morning Star News) – Pastor Sagar Baizu, 46, had finished one meeting and had an hour before the next one, so he decided to stop at a café on a major thoroughfare in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, on July 19.

As he was about to sip a coffee in the crowded café at 2 p.m., six to eight men suddenly attacked the spokesperson and co-general secretary of the Federation of National Christians in Nepal (FNCN) from behind.

“They beat me for a minute and a half and suddenly fled the site,” Pastor Baizu told Morning Star News. “They said, ‘We will blast your church and all the churches with bombs and shoot you and all your leaders.’”

He became dizzy from many blows to his head by two of the assailants and could not see the faces of any of them, he said.

“I just could not understand what was happening to me for about 10 minutes after the assault,” the pastor said.

After cafeteria staff members helped him regain his bearings, Pastor Baizu informed police, who arrived in about 20 minutes.

Though he sustained no visible injuries, he received immediate medical attention, and doctors advised him to wear a neck brace for a week and to rest his head as much as possible.

Pastor Baizu, who has headed Anugrah Vijay Church (Grace Victory Church) in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu District, for 23 years, filed a report on the assault with police, and the chief district officer has taken it seriously, he said.

Police registered a case against six to eight unidentified men under “attempt to murder” and “threat of bomb blast,” he said. The chief district officer instructed Kathmandu Valley police to provide security to the pastor, and policemen have been deployed outside his church building and residence. They told him to inform security personnel whenever he leaves home.

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