08/05/2008: Jailed Missionaries Appear In Court
Jailed Missionaries Appear in Court
The four Gospel for Asia missionaries shown here are being held in a local jail in Karnataka, India. |
Four Gospel for Asia missionaries being held in a Karnataka, India, jail appeared before the local authorities on Monday. But there was no resolution to their situation, and they remain jailed.
The missionaries, Yohan Samuel, Raj Lohra, Nanji Bir and Shobha Joshi, were arrested July 31 and charged with attempting to force people to convert to Christianity and with "offending the sentiments of the people." They are being held without bail.
They were having a prayer meeting in Yohan's residence at about 9 p.m. when a mob showed up and began harassing them. They were brutally beaten before being thrown in jail.
These four Gospel for Asia missionaries have been held by local authorities since July 31. They are charged with attempting to force people to convert to Christianity and with "offending the sentiments of the people."
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Gospel for Asia leaders are facing heavy opposition as they appeal on behalf of the missionaries. They arrived in the town the day after the arrests to find that the anti-Christian extremists responsible for the attack had organized protest rallies. The group is also calling for a local strike, which would cripple any business and government work. They also threatened the local lawyers to dissuade them from taking on the missionaries' case as well.
The leaders did manage to find legal representation for the missionaries, but the lawyers and ministry representatives were chased away by the crowds when they tried to visit the police station to speak with the jailed missionaries. Their efforts were complicated because the courts were closed for a holiday.
After several hours of negotiations, the ministry's lawyers prevailed and obtained a hearing for the missionaries. However, the public prosecutor did not show up for the hearing, so the proceedings had to be postponed.
Meanwhile, the ministry leaders must travel several hours back and forth each day between their office and the town where the missionaries are being held in jail.
The mission leaders involved in this case
shared the following prayer requests:
- Pray for a breakthrough to occur on Tuesday when the case goes before the court again.
- Pray for the ministry's lawyers, that they will have God's wisdom and understanding as they handle this case.
- Pray for favor with the magistrate, that she would assign bail to the missionaries and would have the fear of God while executing justice.
- Pray for the media not to distort and publish untruthful news.
- Pray for the overall tension in the area, and ask that the peace of God would prevail there.
