Religious Freedom in Uzbekistan Appears Under Attack - June 8, 2010

The former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan officially allows Christians to worship freely.  In light of some recent activities by authorities, that freedom appears to be under attack by government authorities.

Godfrey Yogarajah, Executive Director of the World Evangelical Alliance’s Religious Liberty Commission, recently said that he is “deeply concerned” about a recent raid on a church in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. 

Tashkent City Church of Christ, which was formed in 1999, is a registered church that has been regularly scrutinized by the Tashkent Justice Department, something that is required by law.  However, what happened on May 16 was something altogether different.  That day, about 500 adults were gathered for their weekly service when, without warrant, police raided the building where they were meeting.  Accompanying the police were the secret police, tax inspectors, fire inspectors and the sanitary-epidemiological service.  Children were meeting in another part of the building for Sunday School.

Police began videotaping the worship service and Sunday School. After a five hour search, police detained eight people, including the associate pastor Artur Avanesyan.  They were kept in detention for 24 hours without food and water and were not allowed to contact their families. The authorities confiscated computers and Christian literature and took with them the 392 forms signed by parents allowing their children to attend Sunday School.

Two days later the eight who had been detained appeared before a District Court and three of them were sentenced to 15 days in jail.  Heavy fines were imposed on the other five, up to eighty times the minimum monthly salary.  The church expressed shock and dismay at the harsh verdict.

This was just the latest in a series of raids this year on Protestant churches throughout Uzbekistan.  A number of Christian leaders have been convicted of false charges.

WEA’s Godfrey Yogarajah said “We call upon the government of Uzbekistan to ensure the rights of all Uzbek citizens and call upon the worldwide Christian community to stand in solidarity with the Uzbek church and pray for justice and equality for the church in Central Asia."

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