_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Laos_______________
Torture and renunciation
Christians pressured to recant
After more than a month of prison and torture, eight Laotian Christians were released by the Communist government, but only after they denied their faith.
The original charge against the eight Christians was “subversive activity”; the indictment did not mention their religious beliefs. But the Protestant Christian church leaders were released in July after shock treatments prompted them to renounce their faith. The human-rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has said the eight were unable to bear the strain of their conditions, and that they were later overcome with remorse and wept as they recounted their agreement to abandon their religion.
Just before the arrest, the churches throughout the Songhone district were given a deadline of June 1 to close. In preceding months, Christians had suffered repeated arrests and interrogation and been warned they must abandon their faith.
Local Catholic sources said that government policy in Laos is similar to that in Vietnam. “Protestants suffer maltreatment because they expose themselves more,” one local source told the Fides agency. “Catholics are seen in a good light because of the education and social services they provide.” Mervyn Thomas of Christian Solidarity Worldwide said: “The situation for Christians in Laos is desperate. They have virtually no legal protection and are subject to all kinds of pressure to abandon their peaceful beliefs.” He continued: “Even those who have signed forms are not left in peace, as some of them have been forced to prove their renunciation of Christianity by carrying out animist ceremonies, including sacrificing animals, drinking blood, and speaking to the spirits.”
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