17 US missionaries and one Indian caught illegally converting Hindus to Christianity under the guise of social work, had entered Nepal on tourist visa
Nepal 
6 February, 2025
Case Summary
Seventeen American citizens were arrested in Dharan, Hindu-dominant country of Nepal, on January 7, 2025, for preaching Christianity with the intent to convert others. The individuals were deported on January 8 night after their visas were revoked by the Immigration Department of Nepal. They had entered Nepal on tourist visas, but authorities discovered they had been engaging in religious activities under the guise of volunteer work for church construction. Along with the Americans, one Indian citizen, Pastor Vasant Lama from Siliguri, West Bengal, was also arrested. The suspects were accused of violating Nepal's visa rules by conducting religious preaching and conversion activities while working on the construction of a church in Dharan. The Immigration Department’s spokesperson, Dharamraj Joshi, stated that the accused had been preaching for conversion, which is illegal under Nepal’s constitution, specifically under subsection 3 of Article 26. The arrested Americans, including Ryan Matthew Carter, Silas Daniel Fox, Russell Thomas Howells, and others, were handed over to the Immigration Department in Kathmandu. They were then sent back to the United States by Qatar Airways. The investigation confirmed the violations, and the immigration authorities acted swiftly to deport them.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of Predatory proselytisation and within this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The arrested individuals entered Nepal on tourist visas but were found engaging in religious preaching and illegal conversion activities under the guise of social work. The fact that the accused used volunteer work as a pretext for religious activities indicates a deliberate strategy to circumvent Nepal’s legal framework and target local communities for religious conversion. This aligns with well-documented global patterns where missionary groups infiltrate regions under the guise of humanitarian work while secretly engaging in proselytisation. Furthermore, Nepal’s constitution, under Article 26(3), explicitly criminalises conversion attempts, reinforcing the view that these missionaries’ actions were not only unlawful but also an act of religious interference in a predominantly Hindu nation. The fact that the missionaries disguised their proselytisation activities as social work, a well-documented tactic used to exploit vulnerabilities and induce conversions through material or emotional dependence, itself proves that they aimed to exploit the vulnerabilities of poor and economically backward Hindus and lure them into Christianity. Since exploiting vulnerabilities for the explicit purpose of conversion is purely based on animosity towards the victim's faith, this case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
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