Uzbek Christians endure fines, Bible destruction

Uzbek Christians endure fines, Bible destruction

FERGANA, Uzbekistan — Police who raided a Protestant family’s private home in Fergana assaulted the husband and confiscated religious literature, local Protestants said.

The religious books are being checked, and officials are preparing an administrative case against the husband and wife and a family friend. When the police inspector who led the raid was asked what literature found in their home was banned, he identified the Bible and the New Testament.

Courts in the capital Tashkent and eastern Syrdarya region have handed down fines of up to 100 times the minimum monthly wage to 10 Protestants to punish them for unregistered activity. In both cases, the courts ordered that confiscated Christian literature — including Bibles and New Testaments — be destroyed. Officials of the state Religious Affairs Committee refused to explain why peaceful religious activity continues to be punished and why courts order the destruction of religious literature.

“I am no expert in those matters, and you called the wrong department,” said Zulhaydar Sultanov, head of the International Relations Department.