Police in Laos arrested Christian leader Bountheung from the village of Nongpong in central Laos. The charge is "converting 300 Laotians to the Christian faith".
Fides reports that the arrest took place a week ago after the leader had been summoned twice prior to his arrest for questioning by regional authorities. The questions were about his faith and his conversion of around 300 others to the Christian faith in May.
The 300 believers, all from Nongpong, decided of their own free will to convert after meeting the leader and hearing him speak. This made the local authorities uneasy. The arrest warrant allows Bountheung to be expelled from the village and orders the 300 new Christians in Nongpong to renounce their Christian faith in exchange for being allowed to continue living in the village.
According to the NGO Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom, this is a violation of civil rights, as Bountheung has been living and working in the village and is registered under the rules, like the 300 others, as a "permanent resident". The NGO adds that religious freedom, which is part of the Lao constitution, has also been violated.
In another village, Nahoukou, about 40 kilometers from the city of Savannakhet in the same province as Nongpong, local authorities interrogated and threatened Tongkoun Keohayong, the secular leader of the Christian congregation in the village, and questioned him about the reason for the growth of Christianity in the village. Tongkoun explained that since February 2012, more than 30 residents of the village have become Christians and joined the church, as they are entitled to by law.
The authorities ordered him and the other believers to renounce their faith and stop holding services or they would be expelled from the village.
Source: Ucanews
