Sergey Shavtsov, a lawyer and prominent human rights activist, was arrested, tried and sentenced to 10 days’ imprisonment Friday, March 24, for organizing an “illegal religious activity” in Minsk, Belarus. He was detained by state security forces after taking responsibility for holding an interdenominational conference featuring a U.S. humanitarian aid worker. The conference discussed the biblical view of history.

Three policemen and a secret service agent interrupted the final day of the conference and locked the delegates inside for one hour. They arrested two pastors whom they believed were the organizers and released the others. The pastors were interrogated at a local police station but released when Shavtsov claimed sole responsibility for the conference. He was then whisked to the administrative court where he was given a 20-minute summary trial and sentenced.

Belarusian church representatives are concerned that because the state prosecutor has not yet indicated that the case is closed, Shavtsov and the other delegates may be liable to further prosecution, potentially facing prison terms ranging from six months to two years. Shavtsov represents most of the Protestant church unions in Belarus. He authored the 2002 “White Book” which documented violations of international law on religious freedom in Belarus.

The incident comes less than two weeks after Baptist Pastor Georgi Vyazovsky completed a 10-day prison sentence in an unrelated case for also leading unregistered religious activity. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide/Forum 18 News Service)

RADIO MINISTRY IN U.K. USES TAXI TO SPREAD GOSPEL, PROMOTE STATION

Premier Christian Radio in England has decided to spread the gospel across London by employing its own taxi. The single hackney cab will tour central London with its radio constantly tuned in to Premier’s medium wave frequency of 1305 kHz. A Christian has been selected to drive the cab, offer literature and answer questions about Christianity and the broadcasts. The bright blue-and-green cab carries Premier’s frequencies and the ministry’s slogan. “We love the cab,” said Muyiwa, a Premier presenter. “It’s proved popular with loads of different people from members of parliament to singers and musicians because it’s often around Westminster and central London. Who knows, perhaps we’ll see royalty in it one day.” The station plans to launch competitions for listeners to spot the cab in London. Presenter Rick Easter, who was responsible for the competition idea, added, “We thought it’d be a bit of fun to ask our listeners to spot the Premier taxi. We may only have one, but we’re very hard to miss!” (Assist News Service)

NORTH KOREA FREEDOM WEEK TO BUILD AWARENESS OF PERSECUTION

During North Korea Freedom Week April 22-30, Open Doors USA is partnering with North Korea Freedom Coalition members to focus on atrocities in North Korea, increase awareness of the conditions in that communist country and raise up prayers on behalf of those being abused and disenfranchised. For the fourth year in a row, Open Doors World Watch List ranked North Korea as the worst violator of religious rights in the world. Christianity is seen as one of the greatest threats to the regime’s power. Last fall the U.S. Department of State redesignated North Korea as a “Country of Particular Concern” for severe violations of religious freedom. (Open Doors USA)

SURVEY: ONE-THIRD OF U.S. ADULTS AVOID ATTENDING CHURCH

A new report based on the annual tracking survey by the Barna Group shows that one-third of the adult population in the U.S. (34 percent) has not attended any type of church service or activity (other than a special event such as a funeral or wedding) during the past six months. Citing past research that discovered most unchurched adults were formerly churched, the new study indicates that 62 percent of unchurched people consider themselves to be Christian, 4 percent say they are Jewish, 4 percent are associated with an Eastern religion, and 24 percent say they are atheist. Almost a third of unchurched people associate with Catholicism, and one out of every five say they are Baptist. In the eyes of these individuals, absence from church life does not indicate a lack of commitment to the Christian faith. Three-quarters of unchurched adults who consider themselves to be Christian contend that they are either “absolutely” or “moderately committed” to the Christian faith but have disassociated with a conventional church. (Evangelical News/Barna Group)

IBS PRESIDENT PETER BRADLEY ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT PLANS

International Bible Society (IBS) President Peter Bradley, 65, announced at the ministry’s board of directors meeting Friday, Feb. 24, that he will retire, but not until a successor is found. Under Bradley, IBS cast a vision to reach 2 billion people with the Bible by 2008. The organization has accelerated its evangelistic Scripture ministry on various media outlets and through ministry partnerships. IBS also has embarked on an aggressive goal to translate the Bible into more than 50 languages worldwide in the next five years to give people access to contemporary translations. With Bradley at the helm, IBS was active in critical outreach efforts, including responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami disaster in South Asia. (Mission Network News)

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