![\\"logo\\"](\\"/img/logo-dpa-factchecking.svg\\"/) *About ![\\"IFCN](\\"/img/ifcn-certificate.png\\"/) ![\\"EFCSN](\\"/img/efcsn- certificate.png\\"/) # Old hoax about missionaries sentenced to death resurfaces 23.8.2021, 16:44 (CEST) A call to prayer is circulating on Facebook (archived here). In the call is asked to pray "for the 229th Christian missionaries, who will be sentenced to death tomorrow afternoon by the Afghan Islamists." Also there is talk about the Iraqi city of Qaragosh, which was recently destroyed by a radical Islamic group would have been taken. ## Judgement: This message is a version of an old hoax that has been around for over a decade internet goes around. There is no evidence that there is currently, at most recent takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Christian missionaries in the country have been sentenced to death. ## Facts: Word about the missionaries spread around the world last week on. Not only in the Netherlands, but also in the US, India and Peru, for example word went around. That is not exactly the same everywhere, but is based on some of the same key points: the message is said to have come from one Judith Carmona, a missionary from Chihuahua (Mexico). Also becomes the city Qaragosh mentioned in the various messages. Different variations of this prayer call for missionaries in Afghanistan appear to have been circulating for years, although the number of missionaries who died would have been convicted varies over time. Lead's fact checkers Stories found a version of the post from 2017, which also includes the detail missionary Judith Carmona is already in. Although then it was talked about twenty-two missionaries, instead of 229, there are many similarities between this post and the version now circulating. In the 2017 version However, the call comes from Pope Francis. The chain message about Christians sentenced to death in Afghanistan became already debunked in 2009 by fact-checking organization Snopes. Even then it still worked about twenty-two missionaries and there was no evidence that this actually happened happened. The Africa Check platform wrote about the rumors in 2019 twenty-two missionaries in Afghanistan. So the story has been going on for years different forms and all over the world. There was an incident in 2007 involving twenty-three church employees from South Korea who were kidnapped by the Taliban. Two of them were executed, the rest were eventually released after a payment by South Korea. Another indication that this is an outdated chain message is too found in the references to the Iraqi city of Qaraqosh. According to the message would \"the radical Islamic group just Quaragosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq." This certainly did not happen recently and not by the Taliban, the group that is now back in power in Afghanistan has seized. Qaraqosh was taken over by IS in 2014. In 2016 the group was expelled from the city again. The Pope visited Qaraqosh earlier this year year. The city has not 'just been taken' by IS, the Taliban or anyone else extreme Islamic group. There is no other evidence of the Taliban since their recent seizure of power sentenced 229 Christian missionaries to death in Afghanistan or have already executed. Not a news media or human rights organization reported about it. The Taliban themselves have not released anything about this either brought. Because there are so many similarities with versions of this chain message shared and debunked in previous years, it seems very likely that this is a resurfaced rumor. (State of play: 23/08/2021) ## Links: Facebook post (archived) About the posts in the US, India and Peru (archived here, here and here) Fact check Lead Stories (archived) Fact Check 2009 Snopes (archived) Fact Check 2019 Africa Check (archived) About kidnapping and execution of Korean church employees (here and here archived) About Qaraqosh (archived) Contact the dpa fact check team: factcheck-netherlands@dpa.com powered by dpa-newslab | Imprint | Privacy | About:
229 Christian missionaries were sentenced to death in Afghanistan