On the occasion of the UN Memorial Day for the victims of religiously motivated violence, the Observatory for Intolerance and Discrimination of Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) has lamented that the murder of the Assyrian Christian Ashur Sarnaya in Lyon has become little known outside of France. The 45-year-old Iraqis with a physical disability was arrested on the 10th. September 2025 in front of his apartment while talking about his Christian faith in a livestream on TikTok. "It is difficult to imagine a more tragic story: a disabled Christian flees persecution in Iraq, finds refuge in Europe and is murdered years later, while publicly talking about his faith," Anja Tang, director of OIDAC Europe, told CNA Deutsch. "But outside of France, the name Ashur Sarnaya is almost unknown, and his death was largely ignored by the large secular news media."
On the occasion of the UN Memorial Day for the victims of religiously motivated violence, the Observatory for Intolerance and Discrimination of Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) has lamented that the murder of the Assyrian Christian Ashur Sarnaya in Lyon has become little known outside of France.
The 45-year-old Iraqis with a physical disability was arrested on the 10th. September 2025 in front of his apartment while talking about his Christian faith in a livestream on TikTok.
"It is difficult to imagine a more tragic story: a disabled Christian flees persecution in Iraq, finds refuge in Europe and is murdered years later, while publicly talking about his faith," Anja Tang, director of OIDAC Europe, told CNA Deutsch. "But outside of France, the name Ashur Sarnaya is almost unknown, and his death was largely ignored by the large secular news media."
Sarnaya had previously received threats related to his religious activity on the Internet, OIDAC Europe said.
The memorial day, which was established in 2019 by the UN General Assembly, has since been held annually on the 22nd. August. It is intended to commemorate the victims and survivors of religiously motivated violence and to reaffirm freedom of religion and belief as a fundamental right.
“Religious persecution affects millions of people, but there is sometimes a frightening lack of public interest in their fate. Other human rights concerns mobilize large parts of our societies, while victims of religious persecution often find little hearing," Tang said. "The 22nd August should be a wake-up call and above all a day to commemorate the one whose suffering is taking place far from the cameras.
The murder of Sarnaya falls at a time of increasing violence against Christians in France, according to OIDAC Europe. According to a recent report by the French Interior Ministry, a total of 843 anti-Christian crimes were registered in 2025, an increase of nine percent compared to the previous year.
The majority of the crimes concerned attacks on churches and property. But crimes against people also increased significantly: Physical attacks and verbal aggressions against Christians increased by 70 percent and attacks on clergy and other church personnel quadrupled.