NEWS ALERT: Belarus Evangelical Church Faces Imminent Eviction By Security Forces
There was uncertainty about the future of one of the largest evangelical churches in Belarus Tuesday, June 2, after authorities ordered it to abandon its building in the capital Minsk.
Christians In Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan Face New Restrictions
Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliev was to receive for signing the final version of controversial legislation "limiting freedom of religion" while Christians elsewhere in Central Asia faced similar restrictions Saturday, May 16, rights investigators and local believers said.
Mounting Concerns Over Detained Uzbekistan Pastor
An international protest was underway Tuesday, May 12, to obtain the release of a detained, frail, evangelical pastor in Uzbekistan, who came to symbolize what rights investigators described as widespread persecution of Christians and other minorities in Central Asia.
Azerbaijan Pastor Receives "Corrective Labor" Sentence
A well-known Baptist pastor in Azerbaijan was weighing his legal options Monday, February 23, after receiving a two-year "corrective labor" sentence for allegedly possessing an "illegal" weapon, trial observers said.
NEWS ALERT: Minsk Church Threatened With Closure; Evangelicals "Fasting"
Members of one of Belarus' largest evangelical churches continued a five-day fasting and prayer action, Friday, January 30, amid attempts by authorities to seize their place of worship as part of an alleged crackdown on non-Orthodox groups.
Tajikistan Churches Facing Closure In New Year
A major Christian rights group warned Tuesday, December 23, that many churches in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan in 2009, if a new draft law requiring them to re-register under restrictive conditions is adopted by parliament.
Russia Authorities Threaten Baptists, report
Baptists in the Russian town of Lipetsk south-east of Moscow say local authorities are using "a bureaucratic way" to restrict their activities, BosNewsLife monitored Wednesday, December 3.
Kyrgyzstan Adopts Controversial Religious Law
Kyrgyzstan's controversial new Religion Law was adopted unanimously by the country's parliament Thursday, November 6, adding to concerns among small Christian groups and churches that they will be targeted by authorities.
Detained Baptist Pastors Face Uncertainty In Kazakhstan And Azerbaijan
Two Baptist pastors in two former Soviet republics faced legal challenges Monday, November 3, because they continued worship services despite opposition from local authorities, Christians and rights watchers said.
Christian Missionaries Bring Bibles, Aid To South Ossetia
Christian missionaries said Tuesday, October 21, they have managed to distribute Russian Bibles and humanitarian aid in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, which was devastated by two months of war between Russian and Georgian forces.
Tajikistan Seizing Church Properties; Christians Forced Underground
Authorities in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan have begun destroying and banning Protestant churches, forcing an increasing number of Christians to meet and worship "underground" missionaries said Wednesday, October 15.
Belarus Bans Christian Festival, Group Says
Belarus has banned a Christian music festival, initiated by Catholics, minutes before it was due to begin, a religious rights group said Thursday, September 25.
Kazakhstan Baptists Fined For Unregistered Worship
Several Baptist Churches in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan continue have been raided by police because they refuse state registration on principal grounds, BosNewsLife learned Monday, September 15.
Police Arrest Two Christians in Azerbaijan
ISTANBUL, April 11 (Compass) -- Two Christians were sent to jail yesterday for seven days on charges of "disobeying the police" in the town of Ismailly, 120 miles west of the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.
Uzbekistan: "Lenient" Court Ruling for Protestant Pastor, But Registration No Nearer
Perhaps because of international reporting on the case, a court in Nukus, the capital of the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan, has handed down what many regard as a "lenient" sentence against the leader of a local Protestant church.
Uzbekistan: Harsh Measures Against Protestants in Karakalpakstan
he authorities in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in the north-west of Uzbekistan, are trying to halt the spread of Christianity among Karakalpakstan's native peoples (Uzbeks, Kazakhs and Karakalpaks, who are historically Muslims),
Russia: Protestants Evicted From Rented Halls
In mid-April four Protestant churches - the charismatic Cornerstone Church and Free Church, the Baptist Free Bible Church and an unregistered Pentecostal congregation - were all evicted from state premises which they had been renting for worship services in the capital of Tatarstan, Kazan.
Kazakstan Christians Persecuted and Fined
ASTANA / BUDAPEST , (ANS) -- Leaders and other believers of non registered Baptist and Evangelical churches in the former Soviet republic of Kazakstan are experiencing a new period of persecution by central authorities, reports said Monday July 1.
Belarus: Repressive Religion Bill Sneaked Through Parliament
The campaign group For Freedom of Conscience has described as "a bolt from out of the blue" the sudden adoption by parliament yesterday (27 June) of a repressive religion bill that only a day earlier had been postponed until the autumn (see KNS 26 June 2002). "Yesterday, when I learnt that consideration of the draft law had been postponed until the autumn I thought that common sense had prevailed among the deputies," German Rodov, head of the Bible Society, declared in a 27 June statement passed to Keston News Service. "But today I have the impression that in taking these decisions the deputies are completely ignoring the views of tens of thousands of Belarusian citizens. This law is a fiasco for the Chamber of Representatives as a parliament and testimony to its bankruptcy." Religious minorities in Belarus now fear President Aleksandr Lukashenko will sign the bill into law today, the last day of the parliamentary session.
Belarus: Baptists Fined for Singing Hymns
Three Baptists have been fined for taking part in a street outreach in the town of Lepel in the north-eastern region of Vitebsk and a further six were given official warnings, Keston News Service has learnt in a statement from local Baptists. At their 6 June trial, two other Baptists were acquitted. Reached by telephone in Lepel on 11 June, the judge in the case, Nikolai Kozlovsky, refused to explain why the Baptists had been put on trial. "We don't give out information by telephone," he told Keston, before putting down the telephone. The town's police chief, Konstantin Borovik, reached by telephone the same day, also refused to explain. "The Baptists violated the law," was all he would tell Keston.
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