Nepal: Tul Bahadur Pariyar, Rupa Sonam, Chandrakali Rawat, and Bhim Kumari arrested for preaching
According to The Annapurna Express, four Christians in Nepal have been arrested and charged under the country’s strict anti-conversion law. This report comes only days after authorities in Nepal released a 73-year-old South Korean Christian arrested on similar charges.
On Thursday, August 15, Tul Bahadur Pariyar, Rupa Sonam, Chandrakali Rawat, and Bhim Kumari were arrested in Salyan after they were accused of “preaching Christianity”. When arrested, police confiscated a bag containing Christian literature.
The four Christians have been charged with violating Nepal’s strict anti-conversion law. The law makes any act that causes an individual to convert from one religion to another illegal. If found guilty, it could result in a five-year prison sentence and a significant fine.
On Friday, the Christians were taken before the district court in Salyan. There, they were remanded to police custody while the investigation was ongoing.
Seventeen Christians have been accused and arrested under Nepal’s anti-conversion law in the past year. Those arrested include both Nepalese Christians and foreigners, including several Americans. Forced deportations have been the results of foreign Christians being accused and arrested.
Nepal photo/ CIA map
