{"id":8335,"date":"2024-02-05T00:46:49","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T19:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/05\/pastor-in-nepal-issues-urgent-plea-as-he-faces-a-year-in-jail-for-sharing-his-christian-faith-i-find-solace-in-god\/"},"modified":"2024-02-05T00:46:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-04T19:16:49","slug":"pastor-in-nepal-issues-urgent-plea-as-he-faces-a-year-in-jail-for-sharing-his-christian-faith-i-find-solace-in-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/05\/pastor-in-nepal-issues-urgent-plea-as-he-faces-a-year-in-jail-for-sharing-his-christian-faith-i-find-solace-in-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastor in Nepal Issues Urgent Plea as He Faces a Year in Jail For Sharing His Christian Faith: &#8216;I Find Solace in God&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-cbn-component-name=\"wysiwyg_editor\">\n<p>A pastor in Nepal will potentially face jail time for praying after his country\u2019s Supreme Court rejected his appeal.<\/p>\n<p>Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya was sentenced to one year in prison over his religious activity and must now face that sentence unless the high court accepts his appeal to have the penalty converted into a fine.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Listen to them on the latest\u00a0episode\u00a0of \u201cQuick Start\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"482\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?p=CCBNC3640195386\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Despite Acharya\u2019s plight \u2014 which is being seen as a step backward for religious liberty in Nepal \u2014 the preacher said he remains steadfast in his faith.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile facing more jail time is distressing, I find solace in God, believing that anything is possible through Him,\u201d Acharya said in a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/pastor-must-begin-prison-term-for-praying-after-nepali-supreme-court-denies-his-appeal\">statement<\/a>\u00a0released by ADF International.<\/p>\n<p>He also urged other countries to place pressure on Nepal to secure his release and defend basic human rights to religious freedom and expression.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI urge the international community to engage with the Nepali government to safeguard religious freedom in order to pave the way for true religious freedom for everyone in Nepal,\u201d Acharya\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/pastor-must-begin-prison-term-for-praying-after-nepali-supreme-court-denies-his-appeal\">continued<\/a>. \u201cI thank everyone for their continued support and prayers for me and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pastor\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/pastor-must-begin-prison-term-for-praying-after-nepali-supreme-court-denies-his-appeal\">previously said<\/a>\u00a0the nearly three months he spent in jail before his sentencing was \u201cvery difficult\u201d and that he often thought about his young kids and wife and would \u201ccry out to the Lord in prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pastor Keshab - Sentenced to prison for praying\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9kbdtNK7nOA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>As CBN News previously\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www2.cbn.com\/news\/cwn\/nepalese-supreme-court-sentences-pastor-year-prison-sharing-gospel\">reported<\/a>, problems began for the pastor in March 2020, when a man purportedly called him to ask for prayer for his wife. The preacher invited the man to his home to perform the invocation, but cops reportedly arrived instead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLater, four police officers arrested him,\u201d ADF International said in a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/pastor-must-begin-prison-term-for-praying-after-nepali-supreme-court-denies-his-appeal\">statement<\/a>. \u201cHe was released on 8 April 2020, only to be re-arrested a day later on charges of \u2018outraging religious feelings\u2019 and \u2018proselytizing\u2019 for distributing religious leaflets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There were also reports of a video uploaded to YouTube showing Acharya stating COVID-19 could be healed through prayer, though he\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www2.cbn.com\/news\/cwn\/nepalese-supreme-court-sentences-pastor-year-prison-sharing-gospel\">denied<\/a>\u00a0uploading the clip.<\/p>\n<p>Acharya was charged under Nepal\u2019s penal code, which cracks down on sharing faith or attempts to convert others to Christianity. An anti-conversion law was put into place in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, he was sentenced to two years of prison and fined 20,000 Nepali rupees, with a subsequent court reducing the punishment to one year. Tragically,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www2.cbn.com\/news\/cwn\/nepalese-supreme-court-sentences-pastor-year-prison-sharing-gospel\">he was convicted<\/a>\u00a0based on one person\u2019s claims, as corroboration was reportedly not given by others.<\/p>\n<p>After Acharya was freed on bail, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case and essentially upheld the previous conviction. Now, Acharya hopes the prison sentence can be converted into a fine.<\/p>\n<p>As the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) states, Nepal\u2019s 2007 constitution officially delineated the nation as a secular state, ending the centuries of Hindu monarchy rule. This brought some protections for religious minorities while also sparking some new struggles.<\/p>\n<p>Hinduism is still favored, with the USCIRF\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscirf.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-08\/2023%20Nepal%20Country%20Update.pdf\">noting<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cNepal\u2019s National Penal (Code) Act criminalizes proselytism, blasphemy, and cow slaughter, disproportionally impacting the country\u2019s Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim populations.\u201d In particular, it is illegal to convert someone from one faith to another.<\/p>\n<p>Nepal was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opendoorsuk.org\/news\/latest-news\/countries-outside-world-watch-list-2023\/\">ranked<\/a>\u00a0#48 on Open Doors\u2019 World Watch List in 2022 and has since dropped out of the top 50 nations where Christian persecution is at its worst. In a 2023 explanation, Open Doors said its removal was due to a rise in persecution in other nations and not because \u201cpersecution has decreased there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Continue to pray for Acharya as he faces his ongoing legal battle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www1.cbn.com\/cbnnews\/world\/2024\/february\/pastor-in-nepal-issues-urgent-plea-as-he-faces-a-year-in-jail-for-sharing-his-christian-faith-i-find-solace-in-god\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A pastor in Nepal will potentially face jail time for praying after his country\u2019s Supreme Court rejected his appeal. Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya was sentenced to one year in prison over his religious activity and must now face that sentence unless the high court accepts his appeal to have the penalty converted into a fine. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[]},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}