Bitter Winter
A magazine on religious liberty and human rights
NEWS FROM CHINA
Thailand: Two Pardoned Uyghurs Now Face Deportation to China
Freed from prison by a royal act of clemency, the men wait in the Bangkok immigration center from which 40 compatriots were secretly sent back to Beijing in 2025.
NEWS FROM THE WORLD
Pakistan’s Supreme Court Confirms Qaiser Ayub’s Death Sentence in Blasphemy Case
His younger brother, Amoon, was acquitted after twelve years in jail. Two days later, a mob in Punjab burned the clinic of another accused believer.
TESTIMONIES FROM CHINA
Kashgar 1981: The Forgotten Uprising at the Dawn of China’s Reform Era
The killing of a Uyghur worker by a Han shopkeeper sparked a revolt that kept the city outside Communist Party control for nine days.
TESTIMONIES FROM THE WORLD
An African Detective Story: Who Killed Bishop Osório Citora Afonso?
A murder in Mozambique raised embarrassing questions for the government and for the Catholic Church itself
FEATURED CHINA
“The Quiet State”: Unveiling China’s Subtle Control in Tibet
Robert Barnett’s book unveils new ways invented by the regime to control Tibetans, particularly nuns and monks.
FEATURED INTERNATIONAL
Six Propositions and a Straw Man: Ann Gleig’s “Talking About Cults”
A Buddhism specialist ventures into the study of new religious movements. She caricatures an entire field and forgets a whole category of survivors.
OP-EDS CHINA
Apologies for Mao, Silence for Uyghurs: What Is Freedom Worth?
Beijing can impose a commercial price on speech abroad. The deeper question is whether institutions in democratic societies will defend their freedoms when doing so becomes costly.
OP-EDS INTERNATIONAL
Prosecutor Arrigo Strikes Back: Old Russian Slanders and New Fantasies About Konstantin Rudnev
“Confidential information” leaked to an Argentine daily repeats claims that official documents, scholars, and the alleged victim herself have already refuted.
INTERVIEWS
A Case Built on Sand? Konstantin Rudnev Speaks Out After House Arrest Is Revoked
The prosecutors’ accusations against Rudnev deserves to be examined in detail—and he should be allowed to present his version to the public.
DOCUMENT AND TRANSLATIONS
El fiscal Arrigo contraataca: viejas calumnias rusas y nuevas fantasías sobre Konstantin Rudnev
“Información confidencial” filtrada a un diario argentino repite afirmaciones que documentos oficiales, académicos y la propia presunta víctima ya han refutado.






