TASHKENT, Uzbekistan — Pavel Peichev, the head of Uzbekistan’s Baptist Union, and two colleagues face up to three years in prison each when they go on trial under criminal charges of tax evasion and teaching children Christianity against their and their parents’ will at a Baptist-run summer camp.
The three have rejected the accusations against them, according to the indictment. One of the accused, Dmitri Pitirimov, said that as a religious organization the union is exempt from paying taxes.
As the leader of the Joy children’s camp, he insists that two parents cited in the indictment testifying against them knew “perfectly well” that they were sending their children to a Baptist camp where the children would be taught the Bible and signed documents to confirm their children’s attendance.
He said one boy cited in the indictment had decided not to come this year because the prosecutor’s office had warned him it was an illegal camp. The trial date has not been announced.
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