North Korea, Iran named top persecutors of Christians

North Korea, Iran named top persecutors of Christians
Updated: Wednesday, January 06, 2010

16:40GMT—11:40AM/EST

Washington, 6 January (WashingtonTV)—Open Doors USA, a ministry serving persecuted Christians worldwide, on Wednesday named North Korea for the eight straight time as the world’s top persecutor of Christians.

Following North Korea on the organization’s 2010 World Watch List is Iran, which held the third spot in 2009.

Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Afghanistan, Yemen, Mauritania, Laos and Uzbekistan rounded out the top 10 list.

“There is no other country in the world where Christians are being persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner,” Open Doors president, Carl Moeller, said of North Korea.

In North Korea, three generations of a family can be put in prison if one member is found to be a Christian, he said.

Despite the intense persecution, the number of Christians in the communist country is actually growing, said Open Doors.

Open Doors explained that Iran moved up because the “wave” of arrests of Christians which started in 2008 continued even stronger during 2009. At least 85 Christians were arrested during this time period, it said.

It is suspected, Open Doors noted, that the arrests were a way for the Iranian government “to distract attention away from internal problems”, such as the unrest following June’s presidential election, and to show that they are still in control.

It said while the majority of those Christians arrested have been released, court cases are still pending and many are being monitored and threatened.

The report said that the Iranian authorities closed some churches in 2009, primarily because of the attendance of many newly-converted Muslims in their services. Many church services are being monitored by the secret police, it stated.

Under Iran’s sharia law, any Muslim who abandons Islam to embrace another religion faces the death penalty.

Saudi Arabia dropped from number 2 to number 3 in this year’s poll. Open Doors said that the drop was not because of improved treatment of Christians, but because the situation remained unchanged, while Iran’s treatment of Christians worsened.

Since 1991, Open Doors has released the annual World Watch List. The data is derived from a questionnaire sent to Open Doors workers, key church leaders and recognized experts in 70 countries, which contain 50 questions covering various aspects of religious freedom.

Source: Open Doors USA website