What are some countries where you can be imprisoned for reading or owning a Bible?

Question

Growing up Christian, I would always hear of far away countries where people would be imprisoned for reading the Bible. Today I wondered about that. Are there really any countries that imprison people for reading the Bible, or is it perhaps groups religious groups within these countries that will persecute Christians?

I found a similar question about countries where the Bible is banned, but it seems like there is not a single country that has a total ban, other than North Korea, which bans all religious texts, not just the Bible.

Answer 1

Countries which ban the possession of the bible include:

Saudi Arabia

At present, the Bible has been banned in Saudi Arabia. In a number of countries, bible translation, distribution, sale or promotion is prohibited or made difficult, and the Bible may be considered extremist materials. Historically, some countries banned the Bible in certain languages or versions. The Bible in Spanish was prohibited in Spain from the sixteenth until the nineteenth century. In 1234, King James I of Aragon ordered the burning of Bibles in the vernacular. In 2015, Russia banned import of the Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. - List of books banned by governments

North Korea

People found with Christian Bibles, which are considered to be a symbol of the west can be executed or tortured. Refugees and defectors continued to allege that they witnessed the arrests and execution of members of underground Christian churches by the regime in prior years. Due to the country's inaccessibility and the inability to gain timely information, this activity remains difficult to verify. - Freedom of religion in North Korea

More on North Korea:

In this totalitarian state, the only thing that North Koreans are permitted to worship is the nation's leader, Kim Jong-un. Bibles are banned and those found in possession of one, face imprisonment, torture and even death – as do up to three generations of their family. - Source

Somalia

Christians residing in Somalia face constant persecution from radical Islamists and government officials. The prevalence of the Islamic extremist group, al-Shabaab means that believers often practise their faith in extreme secrecy and cannot own Bibles. - Source

Maldives

The Maldives have a reputation for being a luxurious idyll but a Bible can get you into trouble in this paradise. Under the country's strict Islamic laws, importing a Bible is forbidden. There is currently no complete translation of the Bible into Dhivehi, the official language of the tropical nation. - Source

Morocco

It's against the law to carry a Bible translated into Arabic in Morocco. Reports of overt Christian persecution are few but Christian children are not given a religious education. - Source

Libya

Like Morocco, Libya has laws against bringing Bibles in the Arabic language into the country. The distribution of Bibles and evangelism is illegal. - Source

Uzbekistan

In this Central Asian dictatorship, high penalties are imposed on those who own Bibles. Authorities are known to detain Christians found in possession of the holy book for "keeping and storing extremist materials with the purpose of further distribution." - Source

Christian Persecution On The Rise In Uzbekistan Where Just Owning A Bible Is Illegal

Open Doors profiles annually 50 countries “where Christians face the most extreme persecution.”

Answer 2

This article lists six countries where owning a bible is 'dangerous' :

Six Countries . . .

The six countries listed are North Korea, Somalia, Maldives, Morocco, Libya and Uzbekistan.

Of the list - North Korea, Libya and Uzbekistan are the most intolerant.

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China is, in fact, 'imprisoning' people for their religious, or cultural, beliefs as reported by recent documentaries regarding the Uighurs.

China's Cultural Persecution of Uighurs.

However the imprisonment is described by euphemisms such as 'training' and 'education'.

So also is the effort of China to stamp out Christianity.

Preserving the Integrity of the Bible in China.

Under the direction of the Chinese government . . . a five-year plan to reorient the Bible to promote socialism and create a new Christianity that favors the communist government’s agenda.

Coupled with the way the Uighurs are being treated, this re-writing of the bible and the fact that bibles can no longer be retailed in China is, in effect, a genuine situation of facing potential imprisonment for possessing a real bible (as opposed to a Communist version of the bible).

Answer 3

Russia (w.r.t. non-mainstream Christianity)

The particular incident that comes to mind is the recent (2019-Sep-2) conviction of Valeriy Moskalenko, who was detained for public reading of the Bible (limited resources in English - https://jw-russia.org/en/news/19090214-1115.html is very brief description, the rest is in Russian). However, it seems that it's less about the actual acts but more about his membership of Jehovah's Witnesses, as the charges are regarding 'organizing extremist behavior' - which seems a pattern in Russia, where the Jehovah's Witnesses (and some other non-mainstream religious organizations) are treated as extremist and their acts of proselytization are restricted and punished.