Christian Solidarity International

18/06/2026

Mothers, fathers, children, brothers and sisters...

Fleeing civil war.

2 million Sudanese people had to abandon their homes looking for safety in the Nuba Mountains.

Resources across 15 camps are stretching to a breaking point.

They need food, medicines, shelter.

They need your help.

Pray for them 🙏

And if you can, please donate today.

Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eYDYtMV6

👉 Donate here: https://lnkd.in/eE7UXGKv

18/06/2026

Free Armenia's Political Prisoners 🇦🇲

Christian Solidarity International presents a non-exhaustive list of individuals detained, imprisoned, or placed under travel bans for political reasons since the Armenian government’s campaign against the Armenian Church began in earnest in June 2025.

The data has been collected in cooperation with the Armenian Center for Political Rights Քաղաքական իրավունքների հայկական կենտրոն - ՔԻՀԿ / ACPR.

CSI calls on the Armenian authorities to end their campaign against the church, end its politicized prosecutions, and free all political prisoners immediately.

Find out more:
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Azerbaijani security forces have seized at least eight current and former senior officials of Nagorno Karabakh, also known as the Republic of Artsakh, following Baku’s military takeover.

17/06/2026

Armenian court eases pretrial restrictions for Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan 🇦🇲

An Armenian court moved Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan to house arrest after he spent 344 days in a prison previously used by the KGB.

Galstanyan leads the "Holy Struggle" movement, which launched in 2024 to protest Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s land handovers to Azerbaijan.

The clergyman previously drew a protest of 100,000 people in the capital before police suppressed the mass protests with violence.

The state arrested Galstanyan in June 2025, accusing him of terrorism and plotting to seize power. However, defense lawyers maintain the charges are purely political, and an independent legal investigation revealed that authorities fabricated evidence by splicing unrelated audio surveillance tapes together.

The archbishop remains under judicial restrictions and continues to demand a full acquittal and an official apology.

Read on:
🔗 https://www.csi-int.org/news/armenias-archbishop-bagrat-galstanyan-placed-under-house-arrest/

The order follows the senior clergyman’s year spent in a Yerevan jail. Archbishop Galstanyan is not satisfied and is demanding a full exoneration.

17/06/2026

Christian Solidarity International outlines five key priorities for Armenia's next government, in order to protect the nation's human rights, religious freedom, and national identity:

1️⃣ Respect religious freedom and the autonomy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, upholding the Church’s independence as required by international human rights law.

2️⃣ Work for the unconditional release of the Armenian Christian hostages held in Azerbaijan.

3️⃣ Preserve heritage, stopping the erasure by Azerbaijan of historic churches, monasteries, and cemeteries in .

4️⃣ Release political prisoners detained for defending Artsakh and Church identity.

5️⃣ Back the Swiss Peace Initiative to negotiate the safe and dignified return of the Armenian Christians to Artsakh.

Read the full open letter here:
🔗 http://csi-int.org/news/five-action-items-for-armenias-next-prime-minister/

As Armenians head to the polls, CSI sets out what the next government should do to protect human rights in the world’s first Christian nation.

16/06/2026

Inaction on the Swiss Peace Initiative 🇨🇭

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis claims that Switzerland cannot act on parliament’s instructions to hold a peace forum for .

Last Wednesday, Erich Vontobel, a member of the Swiss parliament, questioned why the Federal Council has not implemented Motion 24.4259.

Passed fifteen months prior, the motion legally mandated the executive branch to host talks under international supervision between Azerbaijan and representatives of the displaced Nagorno Karabakh Armenians to negotiate their safe return.

Cassis replied that “Switzerland is a state, and a state maintains relations with other states, not with segments of another state’s population. Such conduct would be regarded as interference in that country’s internal affairs, and that is not Switzerland’s approach.”

However, Switzerland has a long track record of engaging with non-state actors in order to reach peace.

“Swiss parliamentarians and the public are entitled to know why Cassis has abandoned the long-standing Swiss tradition of engaging with all manner of non-state actors in the search for peace.”
– John Eibner, President, Christian Solidarity International

Read the full article:
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By stalling on the Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno Karabakh, the Swiss Foreign Ministry risks facilitating the erasure of a people. After fifteen months, it must be asked whether political or other considerations are behind the Federal Council’s refusal to implement its mandate.

15/06/2026

The 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council starts today in Geneva 🇨🇭

As an NGO with consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council, Christian Solidarity International will again represent Christian values and intercede for those persecuted for their religion or belief, no matter where they are.

Register for our newsletter if you'd like to keep abreast of the latest news from CSI.
👉 https://www.csi-int.org/get-involved/newsletter/

15/06/2026

Recently we had the honor to host Mr. Jan Figeľ at the CSI Annual Conference in Zurich.

As he started his keynote, Mr. Figeľ pointed to a CSI banner next to him featuring our motto, 'For religious liberty and human dignity.'

And he said: "I didn’t know that there would be such a poster here speaking about religious liberty and human dignity." He then pointed out that freedom of religion is a litmus test of all human rights.

And then affirmed: "And if Freedom of Religion or Belief, the most inner freedom of a human person, is not respected, because of a totalitarian regime or autocracy or fundamentalism, then the subsequent freedoms – surely one hundred plus percent – will not be respected: freedom of expression, freedom of opinion, freedom of media, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of property."

Read his inspiring speech here:
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Freedom of religion or belief is important for all people, believers or not, according to a former European Commission Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion outside the European Union.

14/06/2026

Together in Prayer 🙏

Every Sunday we pray for the oppressed and persecuted.

This week we travel to 🇧🇾

Catholic priest Anatol Parakhnevich, aged 65, has been detained since March 16, and was therefore unable to celebrate Easter with his parishioners.

He was arrested after the secret police raided his home and church, confiscating the church keys. Father Anatol is reported to have suffered a heart attack in pre-trial detention. (Source: Forum18; photo: Katolik.Life)

We pray that Pastor Anatol will be freed, and for religious liberty in Belarus.

👉 https://csi-int.org/get-involved/pray/

13/06/2026

Wonderful news for human rights in 🇳🇬

The winner of the HART - Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust Prize for Human Rights has been selected ✨

Congratulations to Mike Odeh James, a veteran frontline journalist from Nigeria.

He says: “The HART Prize is vital because it brings global attention to communities whose voices might not be heard. Journalism is often the only bridge between them and the wider world. We’re helping to preserve the dignity of survivors, challenge injustice, and encourage accountability.”

Christian Solidarity International supported the selection process.

Odeh James' investigation, “Nigeria’s Hidden Gulag: Inside the Rijana Camps”, is a poignant exposé documenting alleged mass abductions, detention networks, and survivor testimonies from forest camps in northwestern Nigeria.

The investigative work of journalists like Odeh James is vital for drawing attention to the extreme human rights violations occurring in Nigeria.

We commend the work and dedication of Odeh James and that of his fellow investigative human rights journalists.

Happy Saturday! 🕊️

Check out his winning piece here:
👉https://www.hart-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HART-Prize-Journalism-Winner_June-2026.pdf

12/06/2026

Christian Solidarity International has been working in Sudan for decades.

The hunger crisis we are facing now is unprecedented.

Watch Franco, a CSI project lead in Sudan, tell his story.

Please pray for the brave people of Sudan, and if you can, make a donation today.

👉 https://donate.raisenow.io/hnjwv?analytics.channel=qr-code&lng=en