Bangladesh (MNN) — A Christian pastor in Bangladesh thought he was being arrested for a dispute with his Muslim family. But it has spiraled into worse charges than he could have imagined.
Tomal is an FMI-supported pastor in Bangladesh. He serves two congregations and is the only Gospel worker in his area. Four weeks ago, Pastor Tomal was beaten by his father and stepbrother, who then pressed charges against him.
Pastor Tomal and his family. (Photo courtesy of FMI)
Police arrested Tomal, but after that, things took a turn.
FMI’s Bruce Allen says Tomal’s father and stepbrother reconciled with him, “but he was not released from jail, which was very strange.
“In the weeks since then, there have been two hearings to see if he’d be granted bail so that at least he could be free and just have to report back to court for a trial date or something like that. But on both those occasions, he was denied bail.”
What Tomal didn’t know is that while he was in jail, another group had filed secret charges against him.
“The council of the local mosque had wanted to put Tomal on trial. They filed some additional complaints with the police, and those were the secret charges. It’s now been disclosed that he’s being charged as a militant activist with ties to a terrorist group and as an activist of the current opposition party of the government.”
FMI says these charges are totally false as Tomal is a Christian pastor with absolutely no political affiliations. His only aim is to support the Church and preach the Gospel.
Pastor Tomal is still in jail and awaits the next step in his case. He has a wife and young children who are also worried about him and what this means for their family.
Pastor Tomal with FMI in Bangladesh. (Photo courtesy of FMI)
A fellow FMI pastor in a neighboring area, Pastor Basil, has visited with Tomal’s family and is supporting his two congregations along with mature congregants.
Allen asks, “We would really appreciate prayer on his behalf for his family [and] for the congregations as well.”
While in jail, Pastor Tomal has not been sitting on his hands. God has opened the door for Tomal to share Jesus Christ with other inmates. The jail has, in essence, become a “third ministry site” for the persecuted pastor!
Please pray for Pastor Tomal’s steadfast Gospel witness in jail and, ultimately, for justice in his case.
Learn more about supporting Bangladeshi church planters with FMI.
Header photo of Pastor Tomal, courtesy of FMI.
