International Coalition for Religious Freedom

ICRF Press Releases. With your support, ICRF has begun issuing weekly releases, using the affordable “24-7” press release service. Our first release was published Friday, September 23, on the recent religious freedom victory for the Unification Church in Thailand. About 40 Internet news sites carried the report, including the following:

 Religion Today  News Blaze  Legal News Articles.com  San Francisco Chronicle  Houston Chronicle  Chicago Daily Herald  The Miami Herald  UPI  Columbus Dispatch  Newsday

New Kidnapping Victim. Last week we received news that another UC member in Japan has probably been kidnapped and confined against his will for faith-breaking. Mr. “K.M.” was reported by local UC leaders as a missing person to the police but we do not yet have word on their response. His disappearance was also reported by his job. (He works as a care- giver.) Mr. K.M. has not been seen at his job or in church since September 5. ICRF has issued a press release about the case, and we will also contact the State Department and Congressional offices. The headline of the release states: “Missing Japanese Man Suspected Victim of Kidnapping and Faith-Breaking.” You can Google this phrase to find it on the Net, or read our release at the “24-7” site here.

ICRF Web Site. ICRF deputy director Ray Mas, who is making steady progress recovering from his stroke, has now begun working officially as our webmaster. Ray will take an active role in crafting our web site and making it an increasingly effective tool in promoting religious freedom. He will also take over administration of the “Stop Japan Abductions” web site. Through Ray’s work, the following improvements have already been added to the ICRF site:

 The site is being updated daily with fresh news and links.  “Religiousfreedom.com” is now connected to our own ICRF Facebook page and Twitter account.  A “news module” has been added to our home page (left column, top) which will put you in touch with the latest religious freedom news from around the world.

 Most of our country-reports now have “star” ratings to give readers an at-a-glance summary of the religious freedom situation in each nation. See this page for examples.

New Radio Show Coming. Through several successful appearances on the John Flowers Radio Show in the Poughkeepsie, New York area, religious freedom project manager Ichiko Sudo has been offered her own show on radio station WHVW. Ichiko’s show has been set for the 3rd Wednesday of every month between 10 and 11am. We will provide details and instructions on how to listen soon.

172 Ministers Briefed. During their trip to Korea last month, 172 American clergy received a strong briefing from Rev. Michael Jenkins, co-chair of the American Clergy Leadership Conference, concerning the faith-breaking issue in Japan. Rev. Jenkins presented the stories of Mr. Goto and other victims and described In Jin Nim’s meetings with the Department of State and members of Congress. Many of the ministers were outraged to hear that their fellow clergy are the ones actually doing the faith-breaking in Japan. We are looking forward to strong support from them upon their return.

CONTACT: 7245-A Hanover Parkway, Greenbelt, MD 20770 Email: icrfusa@gmail.com Website: www.religiousfreedom.com