11/30/2018 Nepal (International Christian Concern) – Ben Thurley, CEO of International Nepal Fellowship (INF) Australia, has called on Christians to be in prayer for Nepal as new restrictive laws regarding religious conversion are enforced. Thurley made this statement following the deportation of Katie Rachel Graham, a Christian woman from Australia, after she was caught doing door-to-door evangelism in a small town in Nepal near the border with India.

In August 2018, Nepal enacted a law criminalizing any act that causes someone to change their religion. This law is to be applied to both Nepalese Christians and foreigners.

Speaking to Eternity, Thurley said, “There are reasons for concern and for prayer because, on the whole, the law has got tougher in its drafting and the avenues for tough enforcement of it are more open than they might have been in the past.”

While the new laws have not yet been used to go after Nepal’s growing Christian community, the is a fear that the laws could fuel persecution. Thurley said, “If it comes down to churches and church leaders being imprisoned or accused of converting others because they share with their neighbor that they’re Christian, or why they’re doing certain things, then that’s obviously a big problem.”

For interviews with William Stark, Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].