{"id":12655,"date":"2026-10-30T11:46:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T03:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/?p=12655"},"modified":"2026-10-30T11:46:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T03:46:49","slug":"nepal-foreign-visitors-detained-for-alleged-illegal-religious-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/nepal-foreign-visitors-detained-for-alleged-illegal-religious-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Nepal: Foreign visitors detained for alleged illegal religious activities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/span><\/strong>(2 Corinthians 4:8\u20139 ESV)<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Local authorities in Nepal\u00a0 arrested twenty-four South Korean at a Bible college near the border with India. The group was attending a workshop at the Nepal New Covenant College (NNCC). Local police acted on a complaint alleging involvement in illegal religious activities, claiming they were executing \u201corders from above\u201d.<\/p>\n

Morang district police chief, Superintendent of Police Kabit Katwal, stated that the visitors had violated tourist visa regulations and the case was transferred to the Department of Immigration in Kathmandu for further investigation.<\/p>\n

Under Nepalese law, foreign nationals on tourist visas are strictly prohibited from preaching, conducting missionary work, or engaging in organized religious activities.<\/p>\n

NNCC Principal, Sarad KC, rejected the allegations. He clarified to police that the visitors were not preaching or sharing the gospel publicly with the intention of proselytizing; rather, they were simply participating in a private gathering with local believers inside the college.<\/p>\n

Established in 2013 as a non-denominational institute supported by a South Korea-based Christian organization, NNCC provides higher theological education ranging from certificates to doctoral degrees.<\/p>\n

Local Christian leaders described the police action as unwarranted, calling it a violation of religious freedom and evidence of growing hostility toward Christians in Nepal. The Federation of National Christian Nepal announced plans to raise the issue nationally and internationally to draw attention to the increasing scrutiny of religious minorities. Meanwhile, South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it has been in touch with Nepalese authorities to provide consular assistance.<\/p>\n

Critics note that Nepal\u2019s anti-conversion laws are applied selectively\u2014reconversion to Hinduism is often welcomed, whereas Christian evangelism is effectively criminalized. Offenders face up to five years in prison and fines of up to 50,000 Nepalese rupees (approx. 330 USD) for coerced conversions or propagating faith that undermines another religion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Group Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, we bring before you these 24 Korean nationals. We pray for their safety, comfort, and swift release. Soften the hearts of those in authority, and use the right leaders to step in on their behalf. Grant your grace, protection, and peace upon your people during this trial. In Jesus’ name. Amen.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:8\u20139 ESV) Local authorities in Nepal\u00a0 arrested twenty-four South Korean at a Bible college near the border with India. The group was attending a workshop at the Nepal New\u7e7c\u7e8c\u95b1\u8b80 Nepal: Foreign visitors detained for alleged illegal religious activities<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":158168972,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[440728],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-updates"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paVBwH-3i7","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/158168972"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12655"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12660,"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12655\/revisions\/12660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/standasia.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}