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Turkmenistan

• Baptist Church Faces Harassment

  On November 10, a new religion law came into effect in Turkmenistan, making all unregistered religious activity illegal. Penalties for breaking the law include up to one year of "corrective labour." The only religious communities who have been able to be registered are Sunni Muslims and the Russian Orthodox Church.

  Forum 18 reported on December 9 that this new law put to use when police raided a Baptist service in Balkanabad on November 30. Everyone, including children, were taken to the police station. They were told that the first two times they break the law, they will face a fine equal to ten times the minimum wage. After that, they will face criminal charges. One of the women was threatened that her children would be taken from her.
   

  Saparmurat Niyazov President of Turkmenistan

    
  The Baptists in Balkanabad had faced harassment and fines before the introduction of the new religion law, but there are fears that this incident may be an indication of increasing pressure with the legal backing of the new regulations.

  Pray for a heart of endurance in the midst of these struggles. Pray for strength these believers and wisdom for parents, as they seek to raise their children in the Christian faith in spite of the opposition which they face.
   

• Deaf-Mute Women Face Fine or Prison

  On July 18, Olga Shchedrova was summoned to a court in Turkmenabad, Turkmenistan and threatened with fines and imprisonment for attending a non-registered Baptist church meeting. According to an August 4 report from Forum 18, Officials tried to force Shchedrova to deliver summonses to other Christians, but she refused to do so. Three days later the court officials took her passport, without her permission, and used it to gain access to her pension of 300,000 manat ($82.00 CDN). They withheld 255,000 in payment of her fine (which was to be 250,000) and gave her 46,000. When she asked where the remaining 4000 manat were, the officials told her that they had kept it for themselves. Throughout the conversation, the officials made fun of her because Shchedrova is deaf and mute.

  On July 21, a similar summons was issued to Nezire Kamalova, also a deaf-mute Baptist. She was threatened with fifteen days in prison if she did not pay her fine. Her mother paid her fine, but then became very hostile toward Kamalova, threatening to send her to live with non-Christian relatives in a distant village so she would be unable to attend Christian services in Turkmenabad.

  Religious freedom in Turkmenistan is virtually unknown for any faith other than the officially sanctioned Muslim Board and the Russian Orthodox Church. All other faiths are unable to register and are considered illegal. In recent months, pressure has been building against various religious communities, as police burst into private homes where believers are meeting and arrest those attending.

  Pray for these ladies and other believers arrested, fined and imprisoned for the faith in Turkmenistan. Pray for the strength to stand in the face of opposition.

• Crackdown on Religious Minorities Continues

  Several reports have been received from Forum 18 News Services in recent days, showing increasing persecution of religious minorities in the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan. The only officially sanctioned faiths are the Muslim Board and the Russian Orthodox Church.

  A kindergarten teacher's job is being threatened because of her faith. Days after she was fined for attending a church meeting in Abadan, the education department contacted Gozelya Syraeva asking for her "voluntary" resignation. Speaking to Forum 18, Syraeva said, "I do not preach to the children, because I know it is against the law. They are trying to sack me simply because of my religious beliefs." The director of the kindergarten's job has also been threatened if Syraeva retains her position.

  A Baptist church meeting in an apartment in Turkmenabad was raided on June 13 and those present were taken to the police station for several hours of questioning. Each member has been fined 250,000 manats ($63.00 CDN). The owner of the apartment, Yeldash Roziev, was fined 500,000 manats and authorities have threatened to take away his apartment. During questioning, officers told Roziev and another member, Aleksandr Frolov, "We have been on your tracks for three months now, and we'll put you away for 12 years."

  The church serves mainly to minister to the deaf and mute community. All of those fined, other than Roziev, are deaf and mute and receive a monthly disability benefit of 300,000 manats. The church is the tenth religious community known to be raided since the latest crackdown began in early May.

  Pray for continued endurance for believers in Turkmenistan. Pray for the ability to stand firm in their faith and to minister to those around them, even while facing constant threats.

• ''Baptists Should Be Shot''

  On May 11, the same day that officials raided a service in Turkmenbashi (see https://www.vomcanada.com/tm-2003-05-21.htm) a service of a Baptist church in Balkanabad was also raided. According to a May 23 report from Forum 18 News Service, about a dozen officers burst into the apartment in the western Turkmenistan town. According to eyewitnesses, the police used physical force on everyone, including children, taking them to the police headquarters where they faced insults and threats.

  During their detention, the Baptists claim they heard senior police lieutenant, Govkher Kurbanova, saying, "What's the point in talking to them, they should be put in a bus and shot!" When one woman refused to be photographed, they threatened to deport her ten-year-old daughter to Russia, where she was born.

  The church in Balkanabad has faced repeated raids on its services in recent months and children of church members have been interrogated in school about their faith (see https://www.vomcanada.com/tm-2003-04-16.htm). Despite the recent raids, Yagshimurat Atamuradov, the chairman of the government's Committee for Religious Affairs, claims, "We are not conducting any special campaign against Baptists."

  Pray that believers in Turkmenistan will know Christ's peace in the midst of this "storm" which they face. Pray that they will be an encouragement to each other, as they continue to meet together.

• Charges for Holding Services

  Pastor Sergei Nizhegorodtsev of Georgievka in eastern Kazakhstan is facing criminal charges for refusing to comply with a court-ordered ban on his church holding services. According to Forum 18 News Service, the notice of charges came on May 12, two weeks after police raided the church's Easter service. The pastor faces charges under Article 375 of the administrative code for refusing to register a religious community. This article contradicts Kazakhstan's religion law, which does not require registration. Nizhegorodtsev's church belongs to the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians/Baptists. This organization refuses to register their churches because of concerns about interference from secular authorities.

  On May 11, police raided a service in a private apartment in the port city of Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan. They threatened to confiscate the apartment. The members are expected to face fines of 250,000 manats ($68 CDN), an average monthly wage. They are accused of breaking Article 205 of the administrative code that requires registration. The congregation belongs to the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians/Baptists.

  Pray for strength for these and other believers facing harassment for their faith. Pray that Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and other former Soviet republics will allow for true freedom of religion.

• Children Interrogated by Secret Police

  On March 26, the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported that officers of the National Security Committee (NSC) raided an unregistered Baptist church in Balkanabad in western Turkmenistan on March 16, even though Turkmenistan does not specifically forbid unregistered religious meetings. We have since received a report from Forum 18 News Service that children from this church have been taken from their school classes and interrogated about "internal church life and their Christian education in their families." According to a statement from the church, officers have banned the children from attending church services and threatened some of the older children with prison.

  Pray for these children, that they will stand firm for Christ in the face of opposition and threats.

• Security Forces Raid Church Service

  Eight officers of the National Security Committee raided the Sunday morning service of an unregistered Baptist church in Balkanabad in western Turkmenistan on March 16. According to Forum 18 News Service, the church was accused of violating the law on religious cults and holding an unapproved meeting. It is unclear if any charges will be laid against those in attendance.

  The church belongs to the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians/Baptists, which rejects registration. However, Turkmenistan does not specifically forbid unregistered religious meetings.

  Pray for freedom to worship without harassment in Turkmenistan and many of the other former Soviet republics. Pray that Christians will stand firm for Christ in spite of opposition from the authorities.