As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, concerns are growing about the impact in prisons - some of the most crowded places, where it would be incredibly difficult to contain it. Yet the God we serve is surely the God over all these prisons, as he was over the prison where Peter was held until the angel appeared and led him into freedom (Acts 12:1-18).
Over many years CSW has reported on countless cases of people unjustly imprisoned, and faithful supporters like you have joined us to campaign and pray for their freedom. Now the whole world is being shaken in a way that none of us have ever seen, and so many things will change as a result. Who knows what incredible stories may come out of this pandemic? The fact that some prisoners have been released in Iran is already an answer to prayer! We’re told that before Peter was released, ‘the church was earnestly praying to God for him.’ (v.5)
Knowing that we worship a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), let us be bold enough to pray big prayers to our big God. Let us pray that no one will ever again be imprisoned because of their faith.
‘I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?’ (Jeremiah 32:27)
Iran
A number of prisoners have been released, either temporarily or permanently, due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in Iran's prison system. These include Fatemeh Bakhteri (Aylar), 35, from the city of Rasht, a Christian from a Muslim background and a member of the Church of Iran denomination. She was serving a twelve-month sentence after being found guilty of ‘spreading propaganda against the regime’. During the trial, the judge told Ms Bakhteri that her charges would be dropped if she returned to Islam, but she rejected this offer.
Vietnam
In response to the pandemic, prisoners in Vietnam are no longer permitted to receive visits from their lawyers or their families, or to receive parcels. Prisoners used to be able to supplement their insufficient meals with supplies from outside.
Countless prisoners of conscience are held in Vietnam’s prisons, including Nguyen Bac Truyen, a legal expert serving an 11-year sentence who has provided legal assistance to persecuted religious communities, among others. Truyen is a Hoa Hao Buddhist who last year went on a hunger strike to protest the mistreatment of a fellow prisoner, a young Catholic activist named Nguyen Van Hoa.
Eritrea
The UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea called for vulnerable prisoners and prisoners of conscience to be released from the country’s overcrowded prisons, to offset the spread of COVID-19. Tens of thousands of Eritreans are detained without charge or trial in appalling conditions, and last year alone more than 200 people were imprisoned because of their faith, in a campaign that has been ongoing since 2002.
Daniela Kravetz said, ‘Over the years, many have died in Eritrean prisons due to malnutrition, lack of basic healthcare and ill-treatment. Essential medical care services are often unavailable for detainees.’
China
On Easter Sunday, at least six leaders of Early Rain Church were taken from their homes and their electricity was cut off after government officials learned they were joining a video call for online church.
The church has endured years of government surveillance and harassment, with some members currently in detention or under house arrest.
Brother Zhou [not his real name] recently wrote a letter describing the church’s experiences under house arrest:
We used to study the Bible, pray and worship, and enjoy meals together at Aunt Xu’s house. But after 12.9 [9 December 2018, when many church members were arrested], we couldn't go anymore… [Still] this husband and wife are enthusiastic in preaching the gospel to the police and the authorities.
Sometimes they saw the guards standing by the trash can to eat, bitten by mosquitoes in summer, and almost frozen in winter…The couple felt compassion. Sometimes they give hymns to the guards, sometimes they give food, sometimes they give the Bible...This is the way Christians express their love.
Gao Zhisheng is a Chinese human rights lawyer who has spent much of his career speaking up for religious minorities. He has been repeatedly targeted, imprisoned and tortured by the authorities. Most recently, he disappeared on 13 August 2017 and his current whereabouts remain unknown.