Advocacy Group Urges Prayer for Released Christian Prisoners in Bhutan
by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
August 4, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Two Christians imprisoned for witnessing in the South Asian Kingdom of Bhutan have recently been released. The group International Christian Concern (ICC) had been lobbying on the two men's behalf since learning of their arrest earlier this year after using the "JESUS" film to share the gospel with a non-Christian family. "Benjamin" (Budhu Mani Dungana) and "John" (Purna Bahadhur Tamang) were arrested on January 7, 2006, in the small town of Paro after sharing the gospel with a non-Christian family. ICC was informed of their situation earlier in the year but was asked to keep quiet while Christians inside the country exhausted all avenues of appeal.
But after ICC heard that the Christian prisoners' sentences had been decided, the group sent out a press release and began working behind the scenes in conjunction with another organization, the Jubilee Campaign. Their efforts were designed to put pressure on the government of Bhutan to free the two men; and last week, ICC officials learned that the Bhutan government had released them both.
Jeremy Sewell, a policy analyst with the Christian watchdog organization, says believers in Bhutan must deal with a severely oppressive regime where the people "are very suspicious of the outside world." The Kingdom of Bhutan is "a very remote place," he explains, "and a form of Buddhism has dominated that country for hundreds of years."
The society is very closed to missionary efforts and to Christianity especially, the ICC spokesman adds, "so there are laws in Bhutan that prohibit proselytism." According to the advocacy group, which provides assistance and promotes awareness for persecuted Christians worldwide, believers in Bhutan have suffered restrictions on their religious freedom since 2000.
In that year, government officials established that non-Buddhist public "cults" were illegal. Although Hinduism does have a sort of official recognition in that nation, generally the government of Bhutan treats Christians and other non-Buddhists with hostility, suspicion, and discrimination.
Construction of Buddhist temples in Bhutan is financed by the state, while other faiths must seek government authorization to build a place of worship. Also, Christians in that country are forbidden from celebrating or praying in public, and rigid security measures are imposed against their evangelization efforts.
Sewell says although ICC's behind-the-scenes work has paid off with the release of "Benjamin" and "John," fellow Christians should keep the two men in their prayers. Upon their release, the organization spokesman notes, "their health was bad because they've been shifted around and [they] are physically not in good condition due to the prison term."
Also, Sewell points out, there is no certainty as to whether the released prisoners will be able to get their jobs back and whether they will be able to provide for their families. "So those are definite concerns that need to be taken in prayer," he says.
