Afghanistan Ranked Most Dangerous Place for Christians, Ahead of North Korea - Report

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Afghanistan was ranked as the most dangerous country for professing the Christian faith this year, shifting North Korea to second place, according to the 2022 World Watch List published by the Christian monitoring agency Open Doors on Thursday.

According to the organization's report, the situation became more dangerous for Christians in Afghanistan after the Taliban* took over the country.

"If a Christian’s new faith is discovered, their family, clan or tribe has to save its honor by disowning the believer, or even killing them... Since leaving Islam is considered a sign of insanity, a Christian... may be forcibly sectioned in a psychiatric hospital," Open Doors said in the annual report.

North Korea used to top the list of 50 countries for over two decades before 2022 since "any North Korean caught following Jesus is at immediate risk of imprisonment, brutal torture and death," according to the Christian agency.

Afghanistan and North Korea are followed by Somalia, Libya, and Yemen.

Open Doors stressed that over 360 million Christians worldwide, or one in seven believers, are facing persecution for their religion.

*The Taliban is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states