DOLPA, Nepal — A Christian pastor was sentenced Nov. 30, 2021, to two years in prison, Nepal’s first conviction under an anti-proselytizing law that went into effect in 2018, states Morning Star News.
Dolpa District Court sentenced Keshab Raj Acharya of Abundant Harvest Church in Pokhara, the report states. He was released on bail Dec. 19, 2021, to await appeal.
The pastor was arrested three times in just a few months. He was first arrested in March 2020 on a charge of spreading false information after a YouTube video showed him rebuking coronavirus during a church service, Morning Star News states. He was released on bail April 2020 and rearrested minutes later for “outraging religious feelings” and “proselytizing.”
Released again on bail in May 2020, he was immediately rearrested. The third set of charges were filed under the anti-proselytizing law, which bans converting a person from one religion to another, the report states. His July 2020 release came after he paid $2,500 in bail.
Nepal was No. 34 on Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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