(ETH) – In America, the persecution of Christians is typically being verbally persecuted on social media platforms or being scorned by family friends or co-workers. Meanwhile, outside of the United States, the persecution against Christianity is beyond comprehension.
A new chilling report is coming out of North Korea that has exposed the atrocities done to Christians who have been arrested for their faith, including reports of forced abortions, the murder of newborn babies, and death by execution for possessing Bibles. According to the Christian Post, the information has been released from the London-based Korea Future Initiative that recently published its latest report, entitled “Persecuting Faith: Documenting religious freedom violations in North Korea,” which includes information from 117 interviews with those exiled from the isolated country.
This new investigation documents over 273 victims of religious freedom violations, ranging in age from just 3 years old to over 80 years old. Adherents of various religions are reportedly held in North Korea’s “reeducation” camps, where the harshest punishments are reserved for Christians, according to the report. In fact, more than 200 Christians were identified as victims punished for crimes, which included religious practice, religious activities in China, possessing religious items, contact with religious persons, attending a place of worship, and sharing religious beliefs.
The report documented details of the many various methods of torture victims endured in North Korea’s prison camps, which included strangulation, starvation, being forced to ingest polluted food, sleep deprivation, and excessive beating. According to the testimony of one former female prisoner recalled, “Men were beaten like dogs. Even in the cell. They screamed like crazy because they hurt so much. “Even though women were beaten less, I was hit in the face and my skin ruptured and I bled a lot. [Officers] told me to wipe the blood, so I cleaned it.
I wept a lot when they hit me again. Blood and discharge ruptured during my next pre-trial examination. They hit me again because I wept.” Prisoners that were found with a Bible or religious pamphlets were executed by a firing squad, while others were locked in electrified cages and fed watery soup according to the report. Others were even executed for simply smuggling Bible pages into the country from China for North Koreans to make prayer books.
The Christian Post stated: “In one instance, a victim found in possession of a Bible was publicly executed in front of over 1,000 people. The victim was tied to a wooden stake and executed by an MPS firing squad.” “One witness told KFI, “I saw the flesh fall off. That is how close I was.” “Another man, who had converted to Christianity, was allegedly forced into a metal cage that was just 3 feet high and 4 feet wide.’
“There were steel bars on all four-sides that were heated with electricity,” he told KFI. “Usually prisoners lasted only three or four hours in the cage, but I sat there for 12 hours and prayed. I kept praying to God to save me.” “The man eventually soiled himself and passed out before being beaten by guards, leaving him with severe injuries.”
