At Ahmadu Bello University in Zaira, Kaduna state, two female Christian students went missing after seven Muslims, also young student women, assaulted them on March 18 at the school. The two students were about to bathe at the women’s residence when the Muslim women, veiled and covered in Islamic robes, emerged from a mosque and attacked, beating them until they were unconscious. Identified only as Joy and Priscilla, the victims were treated at the university health clinic, but they have not been seen since the campus reopened on March 28.

8 – Pastor Zhang Sentenced in China

The Zhongmu City People’s Court sentenced Chinese house church pastor Zhang Rongliang to seven and a half years in prison on June 29 – though he was not notified of the verdict until July 4. A key leader of the China for Christ house church movement formerly known as Fangcheng, Zhang was arrested by Henan police without charges on December 1, 2004. Only months later was he charged with “attaining a passport through cheating” and with “illegal border crossing” (Chinese authorities often deny passports to well-known house church leaders).

Following his arrest, authorities confiscated Christian DVDs and other materials from Zhang’s house that allegedly linked him with foreign Christians; contact with foreign co-religionists can constitute illegal activity in China. Zhang’s lawyer, Zheng Laiyou, was not optimistic about an appeal. “It is very clear that the verdict was not made independently by the People’s Court,” he said. The verdict followed a series of court hearings, the last of which was held on April 6. By April 13, the Zhongmu City People’s Court had acknowledged that “there was insufficient evidence and ambiguous facts,” and submitted the case to the Zhengzhou City Intermediate People’s Court for legal advice. At the April 6 hearing, Zhang had argued his right for a passport as a Chinese citizen and denied the charge of “attaining passports through cheating” for three of his co-workers. Pastor Zhang’s wife, Chen Hongxian, was shocked at the verdict. “It is the Communist Party’s court, not the People’s Court, that makes the real decision,” she said. Pastor Zhang has five chronic diseases, including high blood pressure and severe diabetes, which were all acknowledged in an official hospital diagnosis in 2005.

According to a government official sympathetic to the plight of house church members, the Zhengzhou City Political and Legal Committee was displeased with an impending decision by the People’s Court of Xinmi to dismiss all charges and release Zhang. The Zhengzhou committee therefore asked the Zhongmu city court to re-examine the case. Officials in Zhongmu refused to accept Zhang, however, fearing he might die in their custody as a result of serious health problems. Zhang was then admitted to the Xinmi city People’s Hospital on December 19, 2005, where he stayed until January 23. One witness reported seeing Zhang handcuffed and chained to his hospital bed. Later Zhang was transferred to a Zhongmu City hospital.