TASHKENT, Uzbekistan — Three Protestants were jailed in different parts of Uzbekistan in March and April for between seven and 15 days as punishment for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief, local Protestants said. A Tashkent Region court also fined one of the prisoners of conscience — Baptist Doniyor Akhmedov — more than three years’ official minimum wage after his release from 15 days in jail.
The two other prisoners of conscience known to have been jailed for short periods in March and April for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief were a Protestant in Bukhara who received seven days of imprisonment for “illegal” religious activity and another Protestant elsewhere in Uzbekistan who received 10 days of imprisonment for “teaching religion illegally,” according to fellow Protestants who wished to remain unnamed. They declined to reveal the identity of those short-term prisoners for fear they might suffer further state reprisals.
Protestants and Jehovah’s Witnesses are fined frequently and occasionally given short-term prison sentences in the Central Asia country. (F18)
Share with others: