Charges against eight Christians accused of proselytising have now been dropped in what was Nepal's first freedom of religion case following its new constitution.
The seven men and one woman were arrested in June after giving out pamphlets about Jesus in two Christian schools. World Watch Monitor says that Nepali Christian leaders have welcomed their acquittal.
Although a secular state, Nepal's new constitution, introduced in September 2015, protects the rights of the majority religion, Hinduism, which comprises over 80 per cent of Nepal's population. It is therefore punishable by law to convert, or attempt to convert, someone from one religion to another under article 26 paragraph 3 of the constitution, and this is the law the eight Christians were accused of breaking.
"Our organisation never tried to convert any children," says Barnabas Shrestha, Chairman of Teach Nepal, for which five of the Christians arrested worked. They were running a trauma seminar to help children overcome post-traumatic stress following the April 2015 earthquake when they distributed the pamphlets, which tell the story of Jesus. Although they denied the charges, the five Teach Nepal counsellors were arrested and held for eight days, alongside two school principals and a pastor. It has taken almost six months for the decision to drop all charges to be made.
The decision will come as a relief to Christians in the country, who have experienced increased limitations over the last few months. Nepal's Social Welfare Council has reportedly stopped granting approval for foreign aid for Christian programmes. And one missionary in the country has stated that the Government has threatened to close down, impose large fines and confiscate possessions of Christian orphanages and schools in Kathmandu found to be in possession of even one Christian booklet.
The individuals who were charged and have now been cleared are Shakti Pakhrin, the pastor of Charikot Christian Church; Prakash Pradhan, the principal of Mount Valley Academy; Bimal Shahi, the principal of Modern Nepal School; and Teach Nepal staff Banita Dangol, Balkrishna Rai, Philip Tamang, Kiran Dahal and Bhimsen Tiwari.
