Church members’ homes raided in Turkmenistan

DASHOGUZ, Turkmenistan — Police and MSS secret police in Dashoguz, Turkmenistan, have raided members of the Pentecostal church Light of the East.

Two homes of church members were raided and religious literature including personal Bibles were seized. One church member was threatened with a 15-day jail term and deportation, even though he is a Turkmen citizen.

During one raid, on a rehearsal of songs for the following Sunday’s meeting for worship, officials stated that “singing about God here is banned.” 

The church also was threatened that it might lose its state registration, thus making it illegal. It is one of the few registered churches outside the nation’s capital.

A state religious affairs official who also is an imam told the church’s Pastor Yuri Rozmetov that the Christian faith “is wrong” and pressured him to become a Muslim.