Le Tribunal Fédéral de la Suisse suspend la menace de poursuites à l’encontre de parents qui s’opposent à la « transition de genre » de leur fille mineure
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#EndPersecutionNow
Give Life-Saving Legal Support to Nigeria’s Persecuted Christians Today
Everyone has the right to live and share their faith. Freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental human right, worthy of the highest protection. Will you help us?
#EndPersecutionNow
Everyone has the right to live and share their faith. Freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental human right, worthy of the highest protection. Will you help us?
Thousands of Nigerian Christians like Rhoda, Ezekiel*, and David* suffer grievously at the hands of terrorists and other militants and biased legal systems because of their faith.
Nigeria is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians. Because of the prevalence of religious violence – mostly in the northern region of the country – Christians and other religious minorities are confronted with blasphemy laws, threats of death, violations of due process, and destruction of property through mob violence. Through your unwavering generosity and support, our global religious freedom team has made it their mission to stop this violence and defend Christians in Nigeria and the world over.
Nigeria is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians. Through your unwavering generosity and support, our global religious freedom team has made it their mission to stop this violence and defend Christians in Nigeria and the world over.
Nigeria is split demographically largely, with a Christian majority in the south, a Muslim majority, and a Christian minority in the North. Christianity has grown over recent decades in Nigeria, with Christians going from 36% of the country’s population in 1963 to roughly 50% of the population now.
However, in 2009, widespread violence against Christians began and tragically continues today. ADF International partners with allied lawyers in Nigeria to support those facing sham trials in Sharia courts, including Barbara and three other young Christians who faced persecution for converting from Islam.
In 2022, roughly 5,000 Christians were murdered for their faith – more than the number killed in all other countries combined. For 2023, one estimate put the number of Christians targeted and killed in Northern Nigeria at over 7,000.
Because Nigeria is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians, the persecuted face targeted violence and death from terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Muslim Fulani militias. Terrorist groups like these are responsible for thousands of Christians killed every year. Christian villages are burned, and villagers are left with mass graves, many orphaned children, and scars from attacks. Often, perpetrators are not brought to justice and the suffering for Christians only worsens. That’s why, through strategic legal work and partnerships, we work to support our clients through international mechanisms and the national court system with the goal of bringing immediate relief and ending religious persecution in Nigeria.
Nigeria is split demographically largely, with a Christian majority in the south, a Muslim majority, and a Christian minority in the North. Christianity has grown over recent decades in Nigeria, with Christians going from 36% of the country’s population in 1963 to roughly 50% of the population now.
However, in 2009, widespread violence against Christians began and tragically continues today. ADF International partners with allied lawyers in Nigeria to support those facing sham trials in Sharia courts, including Barbara and three other young Christians who faced persecution for converting from Islam.
In 2022, roughly 5,000 Christians were murdered for their faith – more than the number killed in all other countries combined. For 2023, one estimate put the number of Christians targeted and killed in Northern Nigeria at over 7,000.
Because Nigeria is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians, the persecuted face targeted violence and death from terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Muslim Fulani militias. Terrorist groups like these are responsible for thousands of Christians killed every year. Christian villages are burned, and villagers are left with mass graves, many orphaned children, and scars from attacks. Often, perpetrators are not brought to justice and the suffering for Christians only worsens. That’s why, through strategic legal work and partnerships, we work to support our clients through international mechanisms and the national court system with the goal of bringing immediate relief and ending religious persecution in Nigeria.
A growing number of Christians call Nigeria home and desire to live out their faith through peaceful, quiet lives. And yet, many of these Christians and other religious minorities do not have access to life-saving legal protections because of the injustice of a biased legal system and Sharia courts. Grounded in Islamic extremism, Sharia courts counter national systems of justice and levy harsh injustices on those who allegedly “blaspheme” Islam. An example is young songwriter Yahaya Sharif-Aminu.
Everything began with audio messages that this young Nigerian man shared on WhatsApp. They contained self-composed lyrics in which Yahaya spoke about a nineteenth-century Imam revered in his particular tradition of Sufi Islam. Yahaya was then accused by others on the WhatsApp chat of blasphemy for allegedly placing the Imam above the prophet Muhammad.
An official authority in charge of enforcing Sharia law arrested Yahaya. Shortly after, the young man was convicted in a Sharia court for his alleged “blasphemy” and sentenced to death by hanging. In the trial, he didn’t even have legal counsel.
Blasphemy accusations are the ultimate censorship because they often lead to death.
With the support of ADF International, his case has been brought before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, where it is currently pending. A positive decision could overturn the harsh blasphemy law plaguing Northern Nigeria. Cases like Yahaya’s and those of many Christians we’ve supported serve as a legal rebuke to the oppressive Sharia system and as a hope to advance and defend religious freedom around the country.
*Names changed for security reason
Every client I met thanked those who prayed for them and their religious freedom and who contributed to supporting their legal cases. But they also said that more help was desperately needed, and I saw their need with my own eyes.
Sean Nelson
Global Religious Freedom ADF International
FAQ
Nigeria will remain one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians until everyone’s right to peacefully live out their faith is protected at the highest levels. That’s why we work in close partnership with local lawyers on the ground in Nigeria.
And this is why ADF International exists: to create long-lasting and generational precedents for freedom by targeting the root causes of injustice.
We will continue to bring these dark and unjust cases into the light, inspired by Nigerian Christians who continue to worship God while experiencing such hardship and discrimination, even in the face of death.
We will keep partnering with local lawyers and supporting the legal defence of the most vulnerable while demanding the international community play its role in supporting religious liberty.
If we win, 110 million Nigerian Christians and many more citizens will be free to peaceably live out their faith and speak and worship freely. Will you help us and stand up for religious freedom everywhere?
We work with local allied lawyers to oppose the country’s egregious blasphemy laws and get Christians out of Islamic Sharia courts. We help Christian converts escape from violence and threats and protect Christian ministries targeted for their work.
And we work at the highest levels of governments around the world to put pressure on Nigeria to stop the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.
ADF International works to provide legal support at no cost to our clients. That means only through your generous support, can our mission of restoring religious freedom as a fundamental right in Nigeria and around the world continue.
These persecuted Christians and others like Yahaya Sharif-Aminu need critical support through donations and prayer.
ADF International is committed to providing the strongest legal defence for the persecuted Church, and it is our goal to create a long-term culture of religious freedom in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, we are engaged in numerous legal matters across the country alongside local allied attorneys to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ. Christians in Nigeria are plagued by draconian blasphemy laws, and we are working at all levels in Nigeria to overturn these oppressive laws and seek justice for those who have been harmed by the culture of violence that these laws have helped create.
We also advocate at the highest levels of international law to secure international action to end the brutal violence that Christians regularly face in much of Nigeria. Through our advocacy, we successfully harness the power of the international institutions to bring relief and justice to the persecuted.
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Les autorités suisses exigent que des parents acceptent la « transition de genre » de leur fille mineure, séparée d’eux depuis plus d’un an
A ce propos, Maître Boellmann déclara : « Les autorités suisses se rendent coupable d’une violation manifeste du droit tant international que national, en séparant cette jeune fille de ses parents. Non seulement ces parents n’ont commis aucun délit ; ils ne sont en outre aucunement obligés de consentir aux exigences des autorités suisses permettant que des interventions médicales dangereuses soient pratiquées.
De surcroit, les parents ont non seulement le droit, mais aussi le devoir de protéger leur fille des dangers de cette idéologie. Il incombe à la Suisse d’agir immédiatement afin de réunir cet enfant avec ses parents, et de remédier aux excès de pouvoir dont ont fait preuve l’hôpital et le SPMi, qui ont donné lieu à ce véritable cauchemar. »
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A young girl who expressed gender confusion at the age of 14.
Her parents sought mental health care for her, rather than following the advice of a local public hospital to put their vulnerable daughter on life-altering puberty blockers. During this time, her school began to “socially transition” her, referring to her as a boy against the wishes of her parents.
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La conférence rassemblant beaucoup de personnalités connues, comme le cardinal allemand Ludwig Müller, le Premier ministre hongrois Viktor Orban, l’ancienne ministre britannique des Affaires étrangères Suella Bravermann et tant d’autres, a été interdite hier.
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DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY FOR GLOBAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
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LEGAL COUNSEL, EUROPE
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CONTENT LEAD
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LEGAL OFFICER, UNITED NATIONS
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LEGAL OFFICER, EUROPE
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