By Michael Ireland, Senior Reporter, ASSIST News Service (Breaking News)
(ANS – BHUTAN, Jan. 22, 2015) --
The case against Bhutanese Pastor Tandin Wangyal, originally detained
in March 2014 for holding a religious meeting without permission, has
been dropped and he is free after paying a fine on Jan. 19.
World Watch Monitor reports that
a source close to Wangyal, who cannot be named for security, told World
Watch Monitor, "He's paid the fine; and is free now. There's no case
against him."
World
Watch Monitor says the sessions court initially sentenced Wangyal for
more than four years in prison, but reduced the term to two years, four
months – a sentence that the court said could be waived in exchange for a
fine of 100,000 Ngultrum, or about US $1,600.
According to World Watch
Monitor, Wangyal was arrested in March 2014 with another Bhutanese
pastor, Mon Thapa, who was released in September from his prison
sentence of 2 years and 4 months, after paying a fine of 98,800
Ngultrum.
The men were arrested while they
were carrying a sick child to a clinic in a village. They had arrived
in the village the previous day, in response to an invitation to hold a
three-day seminar for 30 Christians who came from neighboring towns.
They were charged with
conducting a gathering for religious purpose without prior approval;
showing a film without certificate of approval from media authorities;
and for collecting "illegal funds." (See World Watch Monitor's previous
coverage here http://tinyurl.com/ljugzak ).
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom
of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia located at the eastern
end of the Himalayas. It is bordered to the north by China and to the
south, east and west by India. To the west, it is separated from Nepal
by the Indian state of Sikkim, while further south it is separated from
Bangladesh by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. Bhutan's
capital and largest city is Thimphu.
Bhutan is No. 31 in Open Doors’
World Watch List, an annual ranking of countries where life as a
Christian is most difficult. Christians endure threats and pressures
from village heads and clerics to return to Buddhism. They can pray and
worship privately in their homes, but they struggle to meet in
congregations and to obtain official permission to do so.
Photo: Bhutanese monks in a monastery
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