Human Rights

The 15-year-old daughter of well-known Egyptian convert Maher el-Gohary has written a letter appealing to President Obama to help her father who is in danger of being murdered or imprisoned for becoming a Christian.

Dina el-Gohary, who also converted from Islam to Christianity, has been on the run and living in hiding with her father, who is the second Egyptian to legally request to change his religious status.

In her handwritten letter in Arabic, posted on Coptic Web sites, she writes: more >>

After nine months in prison, the two young female converts who have gained international attention were freed Wednesday afternoon in Iran, sources inside the country reported.

Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, were released at 3:30 p.m. local time without bail, according to Elam Ministries. They are currently at home with their family, but could face more court hearings in the future.

“Words are not enough to express our gratitude to the Lord and to His people who have prayed and worked for our release," they said, according to Elam. more >>

The two Iranian female converts that rights groups have been campaigning for were not freed Monday as expected.

Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad were supposed to be released Nov. 16, according to news received by Elam Ministries, a group that supports the church in Iran.

But Elam was later informed that their release was delayed due to “legal procedures.” The families of the women, however, remain hopeful that the two women will soon be freed. more >>

Americans and others around the world are hosting house parties and local screenings this weekend in a movement to help end modern day slavery.

The Weekend to End Slavery, led by International Justice Mission, is aimed at educating communities about the injustice of slavery and sharing the message of hope that change is possible.

Over 13,000 people have signed up to host and attend a screening of "At the End of Slavery," a newly released 30-minute documentary that includes interviews with former slaves and undercover footage from police operations. more >>

More than 100 organizations, including Muslim and secularist ones, have signed a petition against the proposed U.N. resolutions on the "defamation of religions," which they contend will do more harm than good for religious freedom.

The “Common Statement from Civil Society on the Concept of the ‘Defamation of Religions,'” signed by organizations in over 20 countries, opposes the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s (OIC) proposal for the United Nations to adopt a binding treaty that would protect religions from defamation. The groups pointed out that a similar resolution adopted earlier this year only cites Islam as the religion that should be protected.

Moreover, human rights groups say the resolutions will give credit to anti-blasphemy laws in countries such as Pakistan and Sudan. more >>