Uzbekistan

Uzbek Christians Suffer as Regime Tightens Noose

At least four incidents of Christian persecution were reported from the former Soviet country of Uzbekistan this week. According to an analysis and report researched and written by Fernando Perez for the World Evangelical Alliance – Religious Liberty Commission, a Christian woman was beaten into concussion, another woman was fined $1,465 by a court for giving the New Testament to a child, a Christian man was threatened with axe attack by a police official and another man was assaulted by police.

High Price To Pay For Being A Christian in Uzbekistan

Being a Christian in Uzbekistan can be costly. Just ask Galina Shemetova who was ordered to pay a fine of 2,486,750 som, 50 times the minimum monthly pay for giving a colleague a children’s Bible. This amounts to $60,320US, four times the yearly pre-tax salary of a 40 hour-a-week minimum wage earner. Miss Shemetova not only had to pay the fine, but she was also beaten physically by police, a fact known by the Tashkent Court of Appeals.

Uzbekistan: Police beatings, axe death threat, and more

Uzbekistan continues to persecute Christians exercising their religious rights. Recently a Christian in eastern Uzbekistan was beaten by police, another was threatened with death by an axe while a Baptist congregation was promised prison for failure to co-operate in a pre-trial investigation of their pastor.

Prisoner of conscience “released but not free”

Although recently released from a four-year jail sentence, former prisoner of conscience Dmitry Shestakov is still under the restrictions of Uzbekistan’s “administrative supervision”.

Uzbekistan Jails Baptists, Threatens Church

Police in Uzbekistan jailed ten Baptists for three to five days, and fining them 80 times the monthly minimum wage, according to a religious rights group, Worthy News learned on Monday, August 9.

Evangelical Group Condemns Uzbekistan Crackdown On Churches

An influential evangelical organization, which claims to represent over 400 million Christians worldwide, expressed concerns Tuesday, June 1, about police raids on Protestant congregations in Uzbekistan and the detention of several Christians in the former Soviet republic.

NEWS ALERT: Uzbekistan Jails Protestant Christians

An assistant pastor and two other members of one of Uzbekistan capital’s largest Protestant churches began serving 15-day jail terms Wednesday, May 19, on charges that included “violating” strict religious regulations of the former Soviet nation, trial observers said.

Uzbekistan Police Raid Church Feeding Homeless

Police in Uzbekistan broke up a Protestant youth conference, detaining dozens of Christians, and separately raiided and Protestant church feeding homeless people for allegedly violating local regulations, a religious rights group said Wednesday, April 21.

Mounting Concerns Over Detained Uzbekistan Pastor

An international protest was underway Tuesday, May 12, to obtain the release of a detained, frail, evangelical pastor in Uzbekistan, who came to symbolize what rights investigators described as widespread persecution of Christians and other minorities in Central Asia.

Protestant Christian Faces 15 Years Prison In Uzbekistan

A Protestant Christian leader in Uzbekistan faces up to 15 years in prison on charges that include teaching religion without official approval and encouraging people to read "prohibited Christian literature," a major religious rights group said Monday, July 14.

Uzbekistan “Bans” Bibles

Thousands of Christians in Uzbekistan were without anticipated Bibles and related Christian literature Sunday, July 13, as authorities have reportedly imposed a ban on Bible imports, a major Christian publishing group said.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Break Up Christian Meetings

Evangelical Christians in the ex-Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were on edge Saturday, May 6, ahead of Sunday worship services as security forces in both countries reportedly raided church gatherings and threatened believers, including children, while confiscating Bibles.

Worthy Christian News