Second-grader Khristopel Butarbutar, who was part of a Christian tribal group on Indonesia’s island of Sumatra, came home from school on May 19, 2025, injured and in pain. He had been beaten by five older Muslim boys in his school, the culmination of a week of bullying that included taunting him about his Christian faith. Khristopel continued to suffer and weaken physically, and his parents took him to the hospital, where he died on May 26. The autopsy showed the cause of death as a ruptured appendix, which may or may not have been the result of the beating, but the autopsy also showed internal bleeding and bruises that were consistent with blunt force trauma.
Read MoreChristian refugees in Türkiye face persecution and possibly death if they are forced out. Türkiye, which has the largest refugee population in the world, is actively working to reduce its numbers as roughly 3.5 million have fled there from neighboring countries. “Türkiye has been ramping up deportations in recent years,” said a front-line worker. “But in the past few months, they significantly escalated the number of refugees they are sending back to their home countries.” Some refugees are Christians who fled persecution.
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