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Your leading source for persecution news
International Christian Concern staffers are experts on global persecution and pride themselves on knowing the trends and ins and outs of religious freedom. ICC’s global team, ICC Fellows, and guest scholars write breaking news stories and reports on persecution topics, countries, and regimes. ICC’s signature comprehensive report is the annual Global Persecution Index.
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Locked Out by Law (Part 2 of 5)
March 10, 2026 Pakistan — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow Economic persecution rarely operates in isolation. It is sustained, protected, and often legitimized by legal systems. These systems quietly encourage discrimination to continue unchecked. When...
A Way Through the Valley
March 10, 2026 DRC — 03/10/2026 DRC (International Christian Concern) – Terrorist militias in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have inflicted violence and abuse upon tens of thousands of individuals living in the nation....
After 150 Years, Pakistan Court Opens Path to Christian Divorce
March 9, 2026 Pakistan — For centuries, Christian marriage and divorce law in Pakistan has been governed by legislation inherited from the colonial era, with little meaningful reform. The primary law regulating Christian marriages, the...
Maharashtra Drafts Anti-Conversion Law
March 9, 2026 India — On March 5, the Maharashtra government approved a draft anti-conversion bill requiring prior permission from a designated authority for religious conversion. Titled the Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam 2026 (Religious Freedom Act,...
Economic Persecution (Part 1 of 5)
March 9, 2026 — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow When persecution is discussed, it is usually framed in images of violence: burned churches, imprisoned pastors, mobs chanting in the streets. These images are real, and...
Herdsmen Responsible for Christian Massacre Put on Trial
March 6, 2026 Nigeria — This February, nine Fulani herdsmen went on trial for their role in organizing the June 2025 Benue massacre, which killed more than 270 Christians. The judge of the Federal High...
Hundreds of Churches Destroyed by Russian Forces in Ukraine
March 6, 2026 Russia, Ukraine — According to a report published earlier this year by Mission Eurasia, a parachurch ministry dedicated to equipping churches in and around Ukraine, Russian forces have damaged or destroyed at least...
Africa News
See All Africa NewsA Way Through the Valley
March 10, 2026 ICC News — 03/10/2026 DRC (International Christian Concern) – Terrorist militias in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have inflicted violence and abuse upon tens of thousands of individuals living in the nation....
Economic Persecution (Part 1 of 5)
March 9, 2026 ICC Fellows, ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow When persecution is discussed, it is usually framed in images of violence: burned churches, imprisoned pastors, mobs chanting in the streets. These images are real, and...
Herdsmen Responsible for Christian Massacre Put on Trial
March 6, 2026 ICC News — This February, nine Fulani herdsmen went on trial for their role in organizing the June 2025 Benue massacre, which killed more than 270 Christians. The judge of the Federal High...
We Must Not Ignore Christian Persecution in Ethiopia
March 6, 2026 ICC News — By Dr. Greg Cochran, ICC Fellow Nigeria’s continued presence on the Countries of Particular Concern list is a good sign that religious liberty still motivates the American soul. Beyond this, Rep. Chris...
Middle East News
See All Middle East NewsLocked Out by Law (Part 2 of 5)
March 10, 2026 ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow Economic persecution rarely operates in isolation. It is sustained, protected, and often legitimized by legal systems. These systems quietly encourage discrimination to continue unchecked. When...
Islamic State Announces ‘New Phase’ in Syria as U.S. Military Withdraws
February 25, 2026 ICC News — The Islamic State terror group has launched an unusual series of attacks in Syria during the last week, part of what it calls a “new phase of operations” against the...
ICC President’s Video Message to Iran
February 25, 2026 ICC News — Like you, we have been closely following the delicate situation in Iran during the past month. Reports on the number of protesters killed vary from 7,000 to more than 30,000,...
Families of ISIS Fighters Escape Refugee Camp
February 24, 2026 ICC News — According to U.S. intelligence sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, about 15,000 to 20,000 family members of Islamic State fighters have escaped Syria’s Al-Hol refugee camp, where many have...
South Asia News
See All South Asia NewsLocked Out by Law (Part 2 of 5)
March 10, 2026 ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow Economic persecution rarely operates in isolation. It is sustained, protected, and often legitimized by legal systems. These systems quietly encourage discrimination to continue unchecked. When...
After 150 Years, Pakistan Court Opens Path to Christian Divorce
March 9, 2026 ICC News — For centuries, Christian marriage and divorce law in Pakistan has been governed by legislation inherited from the colonial era, with little meaningful reform. The primary law regulating Christian marriages, the...
Maharashtra Drafts Anti-Conversion Law
March 9, 2026 ICC News — On March 5, the Maharashtra government approved a draft anti-conversion bill requiring prior permission from a designated authority for religious conversion. Titled the Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam 2026 (Religious Freedom Act,...
Economic Persecution (Part 1 of 5)
March 9, 2026 ICC Fellows, ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow When persecution is discussed, it is usually framed in images of violence: burned churches, imprisoned pastors, mobs chanting in the streets. These images are real, and...
Southeast Asia news
See All Southeast Asia NewsLocals Protest Church’s Renovation in Indonesia
March 5, 2026 ICC News — About 70 residents visited the HKBP Kulim Jaya Church in Riau, Indonesia, on Feb. 25 to demand a stop to its renovations. Twenty locals entered the church and requested permits,...
Aceh Pastor Arrested for ‘Insulting Islam’
March 4, 2026 ICC News — An Acehnese pastor, Dedi Saputra, has been detained by investigators with the Aceh Regional Police. The arrest was made after Saputra allegedly shared content on social media that authorities stated...
Chinese Leaders Gather in Beijing Hoping World Ignores Persecution
March 4, 2026 ICC News — China’s National People’s Congress — a nearly 3,000-member legislative body that would be unwieldy if not for its near-unanimous voting record — is set to meet Thursday to kick off...
Prominent Hong Kong Catholic Wins Appeal but Remains Behind Bars
February 28, 2026 ICC News — Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media mogul and well-known Catholic layperson from Hong Kong, won an appeal this week against a 2022 fraud conviction for which he had been serving a...
Religious freedom in the west
See All The West NewsHundreds of Churches Destroyed by Russian Forces in Ukraine
March 6, 2026 ICC News, Press Release — According to a report published earlier this year by Mission Eurasia, a parachurch ministry dedicated to equipping churches in and around Ukraine, Russian forces have damaged or destroyed at least...
In the Shadow of the Cross
March 5, 2026 ICC News — By Pieter Vermeulen, ICC Board Member In much of the Western world, believers are not imprisoned for their faith. They are not dragged before courts or threatened with violence. Yet...
A Persecution Perspective in the St. Paul Protests
March 5, 2026 ICC News — By Dr. Greg Cochran, ICC Fellow The recent arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon reignited the debate regarding immigration enforcement in Minnesota. The arrest — because it happened as...
Chinese Leaders Gather in Beijing Hoping World Ignores Persecution
March 4, 2026 ICC News — China’s National People’s Congress — a nearly 3,000-member legislative body that would be unwieldy if not for its near-unanimous voting record — is set to meet Thursday to kick off...
ICC Fellows
See All ICC Fellows NewsEconomic Persecution (Part 1 of 5)
March 9, 2026 ICC Fellows, ICC News — By Lisa Navarrette, ICC Fellow When persecution is discussed, it is usually framed in images of violence: burned churches, imprisoned pastors, mobs chanting in the streets. These images are real, and...
Update on Syria: A New Era or More of the Same for Syrian Christians?
September 19, 2025 ICC Fellows — By Linda Burkle, Ph.D., ICC Fellow Several years ago, while in Jordan, I had the privilege of participating in a feeding and grocery distribution program for Syrian refugees. We served...
Word Wrangling in the Sahel Region
May 8, 2025 ICC Fellows — By Dr. Greg Cochran, ICC Fellow One of the greatest half-truths ever unleashed on humanity was the pithy encouragement parents commonly passed down to their children: “Sticks and stones may...
The Refugee Camp Economy: How Refugee Camps Fuel Growth
March 24, 2025 ICC Fellows — 03/24/2025 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – When conflict and persecution happen, whole populations flee their homes, cross national borders, and end up in refugee camps. By 2030, more than 300...
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