On June 11, the body of 65-year-old Kim Khen Pen Khin was found on a street in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Kim was a U.S. citizen who had been working with Pentecostal churches in Uzbekistan. Since her death, police investigations have centered on members of the Pentecostal churches. However, according to Forum 18, it appears that police are more interested in the practices of the Christians than in finding the one responsible for Kim's death.
Since Kim's death, seventeen church members have been questioned, sometimes for several hours. According to one church member, "They were insulted, humiliated and threatened. Police spoke to them in the way you would not even speak to animals. Each day it is getting worse and worse." Three members have been severely beaten, including a pastor who was treated for a concussion. One of those arrested was told by a Lieutenant-Colonel of the police that "all Christians are animals who have sold themselves to America and should be shot as this is a Muslim state." One church member, 19-year-old Kural Bekjanov, was originally accused of Kim's murder. After two days, those charges were dropped but when police found out he was a Christian, the torture began. His ribs have been broken and needles were inserted under his fingernails in an attempt to make him renounce his faith in Christ.
This is not an isolated incident. In Termez on the southern border with Afghanistan, police arrested and severely beat the pastor of the church. They then took the church members to see him and warned them that they would suffer the same fate. In the western town of Urgench, the worship service on June 26 was raided by police and some of the members were detained for questioning. The church has been trying to register for two years and the pastor had been discussing a new registration application with authorities the previous week.
Pray for endurance for Christians throughout Uzbekistan facing mistreatment because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Pray that authorities will see the love of Christ in the lives of those whom they arrest. Pray that Christ's peace will reign in the hearts of every believer.
For more information on Uzbekistan and the persecution facing Christians there, click here.
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