Uzbekistan: “Anti-terror” raid on Protestant worship, beatings, and fines
ICC Note:
Twenty Uzbek police officers raided a Baptist congregation, confiscated all Christian literature, and severely beat two believers. Five members were fined and taken to court for participating in unregistered worship activity.
By Felix Corley
10/26/2010 Uzbekistan (Forum 18 News Service) – Five Baptists in Uzbekistan have failed to have fines for taking part in an unregistered worship service overturned on appeal, local Baptists have told Forum 18 News Service. The fines, as well as beatings given to two Baptists by police, followed an “anti-terror” raid – as police described it – on the congregation as they met for worship. During the raid by 20 police officers, officers swore at church members and seized hymnbooks, personal Bibles and even handwritten notebooks from church members “using physical force, even tearing books from the hands of children”. The duty officer at Samarkand police, who would not give his name, insisted to Forum 18 that “we do not beat believers”. The state Religious Affairs Committee ruled that the confiscated literature including Bibles and hymns were illegal. The convicted Baptists told both courts they consider the fines unfounded, and a violation of their religious freedom. They have continued to lodge official protests, are pressing for confiscated religious literature to be returned – and for action to be taken against a police officer who beat two of them.
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