Uzbekistan pastor sentenced to prison colony

Uzbekistan pastor sentenced to prison colony

ANDIJAN, Uzbekistan — An Uzbekistan criminal court has sentenced Christian pastor Dmitry Shestakov to four years in a prison colony for alleged illegal religious activities. Judge M. Tulanov of the Andijan Criminal Court handed down the harsh verdict against Shestakov March 9, nearly three weeks after his trial began in the Ferghana Valley region of eastern Uzbekistan.

One of the nation’s leading evangelical pastors said March 13 Shestakov’s unexpected conviction could have “grave consequences” for Protestant Christians in Uzbekistan. “Perhaps it already has,” the pastor told Compass Direct news service, saying that over the weekend of March 10–11, many more incidents had been initiated against Christians in a number of places across the country.