Infamous cult leader Roch Theriault was found dead inside his prison cell early Saturday.

A spokesman for Corrections Canada said there was evidence Theriault was the victim of an assault and that a murder investigation is now underway.

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

The 36-year-old Dutch missionary Ebel Kremer has been shot and killed in Kenya during a robbery, his church confirmed Friday, February 25.

His wife Lora Kremer, 34, was reportedly raped in the overnight attack in the town of Athi River near the capital Nairobi.

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

The Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology in Shawano, Wisconson has filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware for the second time.

Former members have described the group as a religious cult.

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

Was Prakashanand Saraswati, the spiritual leader of Barsana Dham, a lecherous old man who in the mid-1990s groped several teenage girls who lived on the ashram south of Austin? Or was he a devout holy man who has been made the target of a malicious smear campaign?

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

After intense diplomatic pressure last week, authorities released Afghani Christian Said Musa, who had been in prison for nearly nine months on charges of apostasy (leaving Islam), punishable by death under Islamic law. Another convert, however, remains in prison.

Details of Musa's release remained confidential in order to protect him and his family, who still remain in danger, sources said.

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

In a decision that could have major implications for a long-running court battle between the state of Utah and the polygamous FLDS sect, a federal judge ruled Thursday that a state takeover of the sect's property trust six years ago was unconstitutional.

Utah's state courts seized control of the trust in 2005 amid allegations of mismanagement by church leaders, including Warren Jeffs, the newly reinstated head of the church who is currently in jail in Texas pending trial on charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault.

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

Washington County, Utah attorney Brock Belnap old a 5th District Court judge Wednesday the prosecution is prepared to move forward with its case against Warren Jeffs -- the polygamist cult leader currently awaiting trial in Texas.

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

Two Afghan Christians who were arrested for their conversion to Christianity remain behind bars despite diplomatic efforts by the United States to secure their release, a Christian rights group said Wednesday, February 23.

International Christian Concern (ICC) said it had obtained a letter smuggled out of Qasre Shahi prison in Mazar-e-Sharif, in which one Christian wrote that he may receive the death penalty for apostasy.

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

Through strong support of U.S. donors and a united front of traditional red kettles and virtual bell-ringers, The Salvation Army raised a record $142 million during the 2010 annual Red Kettle Christmas Campaign.

The increase of just over two percent from 2009's record of $139 million raised reflects the continued determination of every American to support their neighbors during challenging economic times

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •

In December and January authorities arrested up to 120 believers after Iranian religious and political figures acknowledged the existence of home fellowships and condemned them as a threat to the state. Sources estimate at least 62 of those arrested during late December and January have been released, some on bail. A typical bail amount in Iran can range between a few thousand dollars and the deed on a house.

Some of the Christians who were released reported they were subjected to solitary confinement and harsh interrogation, according to a statement by Elam Ministries on Feb. 4. The statement said some Christians held at Section 209 of Tehran's notorious Evin Prison suffered up to 34 days in solitary confinement.

 

• Email to a friend • Article Search • View comments • Track comments • •