They were accused of “unauthorized worship”. The court has upheld the sentence of six months in prison but reduced the fine by half.

Assailants left a note on his body stating that they were Maoists who had killed the pastor for being a “police informer”.

She was very outspoken about her faith. Police suspected her family was connected to the killing.

Muslims accused church members of hostility toward Islam by holding gatherings on Fridays, the Muslim day of mosque prayer.

His Muslim relatives accused the Christian evangelist of holding open-air meetings and debates.

Muslim extremists tried to kill the apologist while they threatened him: “You have terrorized our religion. Today Allah has called you, and you are going to meet him” .

Attacks on evangelical home churches by Hindu extremists have increased lately with the connivance of the police and the media.

The family of the 14-year-old girl denounce that a Muslim neighbor kidnapped her and they were married the day she was taken.

The death sentence is for a Protestant pastor who has been in prison since 2012, while the other was released on bail after four years in prison for Facebook comments.

Somali militant group was suspected of joining the attacks. “Please pray for the families affected. People have fled from the area for fear of their lives”, evangelicals say.

“Keshab went to the court for his regular hearing. We had no idea that he would be convicted that day and not return home”, says his wife. Christian leaders in Nepal are appealing to the international community.

The Reverend Dauda Bature of the First Evangelical Church Winning All in Kaduna state, was kidnapped by armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen in November while working on his farm.

It was the second attack on Christians in the area in one week. Fulani herdsmen killed six Christians from one family and other four were killed in four homes.

Decision cloaked for two months to deter Islamist backlash.

At least eight more Christians slain in October. “Christians are being killed, and the government exhibits carelessness”, said evangelical leaders in Kaduna.

Police initially had no intention of taking action against the extremists. Attacks on Sunday worship have been reported every week from various places in the state.

A 50-year-old Christian sanitation worker was allegedly groped and had clothes torn off by her supervisor in front of other employees.

Muslim Fulanis killed 70 Christians, displaced 30,000 and burned 500 homes in attacks on villages in Miango District the first three weeks of August.

Sikh family members  reviled the women for believing in Christ. Police pressured the Christians to reach an agreement with the assailants.

Supreme Court declines petition to protect Christian girls from forcible conversion to Islam and marriage to Muslims.

Iran’s newly amended penal code, which states that “any deviant education or propaganda that contradicts or interferes with the sacred Sharia [Islamic law] will be severely punished”.

The school belongs to Bethel Baptist Church in Kaduna. Nigeria led the world in number of kidnapped Christians last year with 990.

Authorities told Christians they must renounce Christ to resolve the conflict.

Church leaders and rights activists fear that shelter homes, police and courts facilitate the forced conversions of Christian girls.

The pastor and a bookstore salesman were condemned for “distributing publications or any other propaganda undermining the faith of a Muslim”.