‘Illegally’ organized church in Uzbekistan raided

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan — When seven police officers with a video camera raided his home Sunday morning July 29, Nikolai Zulfikarov was away. But this did not stop prosecutors from launching a criminal case to punish him for “illegally” organizing a religious community, with a possible sentence of five years’ imprisonment. The small Baptist congregation that meets in his home in the eastern Namangan region of Uzbekistan refuses on principle to apply for state registration. One local Baptist told Forum 18 News Service that prosecutors wanted to sentence Zulfikarov immediately but now there is “total silence.” He added that “it is not clear if this means they will abandon the attempt or if they are moving stealthily behind the scenes.” Other church members were questioned for many hours, and at least one was beaten.

The church was again raided the following Sunday during its service. Forum 18 was unable to reach lead investigator Abdumalik Motboev. Ikrom Saipov of the government’s National Human Rights Centre in Tashkent said he could not comment on cases he was not familiar with but denied that religious freedom is restricted. “We don’t repress religious believers because of their faith,” he claimed.