The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to defend the human rights of persecuted Christians.
The organization was founded in 1967 by Richard Wurmbrand, a Lutheran priest, and Romanian of Jewish descent who spent fourteen years in a Communist prison for his Christian faith in the Socialist Republic of Romania, which held a policy of state atheism.
While each country's mission has its own focus and management, they also cooperate through the ICA by sharing information and jointly funding international projects.
[2] The Voice of the Martyrs was founded in 1967 under the name "Jesus to the Communist World" by Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian Lutheran priest of Jewish descent, who had worked with the underground church in Romania after it was taken over in 1944 by the USSR, which held a policy of state atheism and implemented antireligious legislation.
His wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years, including being held in a labor camp and forced to work on building the Donaukanal.
After the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, these missions expanded their focus to include those suffering religious persecution in Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist societies.
Prior to these allegations becoming public, VOM-USA had cut off funding[12] to VOCM-Nigeria after the mission refused to address overcrowding in a children's home operated by VOCM.
[15] According to an audited financial statement published in 2023, Voice of the Martyrs stated that its current president and CEO, Cole Richards received $211,363 in compensation.