SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan — Three members of the unregistered Greater Grace Protestant Church have been given heavy fines in Samarkand in central Uzbekistan. The fines followed a police raid on a private home, after which children and teenagers were illegally interrogated without their parents being present.
A church member was also threatened with jail unless he confessed that he taught the Bible, which would have rendered him liable to prosecution for teaching religious doctrines without the permission of the state and a registered religious organization. The church has been unsuccessfully seeking state registration since 2000.
Church members also complained that the National Security Service secret police have been closely watching them recently.
In a separate case, two Protestant women in eastern Uzbekistan are facing charges after a raid, and one of the women was beaten up when she refused to confess to missionary activity, which is a criminal offense in Uzbekistan.
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