CHRISTIAN LEADER TORTURED AND IMPRISONED
KAZAKHSTAN

26 November 2001

Christian leader Asylbek Nurdanov has been threatened, beaten,
tortured and imprisoned by police in an effort to make him give
up his faith.

Asylbek Nurdanov, a convert from a Muslim background, was ordered
to appear at a local police station in Kazalinsk on 27 October
after police raided the church he leads seizing Christian
literature. During his interrogation Asylbek was hit on the head,
causing him to pass out, beaten, stripped naked, strangled with a
belt, and threatened with a knife. It is even reported that the
officers who beat Asylbek threatened to cut out his tongue with a
pair of scissors unless he renounced his faith in Christ. When
Asylbek refused to give up his faith the local police are reported
to have resorted to pressurising his parents into writing letters
complaining about his Christian activities. Finally Asylbek was
imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital on 10 November, where he was
held for six days. Police deny that Asylbek has received any
violent treatment at their hands.

Asylbek seems to have been targeted because he belongs to a
denomination which refuses to officially register its churches in
Central Asia, to prevent them from coming under state control.
Valery Pak, another church leader from the same group, was
similarly targeted and imprisoned for five days in October.
Despite the reported activities of police and other security
officials there is no law in Kazakhstan that legally requires a
religious group to be officially registered before it can hold
meetings.

PRAY

Pray for Asylbek, Valery and all brave church leaders who have
faced torture and imprisonment in Kazakhstan because of their
faith. Pray for healing, encouragement, strength and God's grace
to continue their work and witness in the face of aggression and
hostility.

Pray that the day will come when all Christians will be able to
worship God and practise their faith freely in Central Asia.


CHRISTIANITY 'BANNED' IN VILLAGE
KYRGYZSTAN

19 November 2001

The council of elders of Chon-Tash village decided to ban
Christianity at a meeting on 26 September which was meant to
bring about a reconciliation between villagers and local
Christians.

They added that if Christians did not stop sharing their faith
with the villagers they "would not escape the people's wrath".
Kyrgyzstan's deputy mufti Ilyas Haji, one of the most senior
Muslim figures in the country, also attended the meeting. He
called Christians "dogs" and said a law should be passed
preventing ethnic Kyrgyz from adopting Christianity. Stones and
apples were thrown at Christians as they left the meeting.

Several Christian converts from Islam living in the village have
been intimidated into giving up their faith by locals. Christians
have been refused burial in the local cemetery, and cut off from
community activities. Muslims have encouraged the bullying of
Christian children, and even beaten and intimidated them. Keston
News Service reports that local authorities have said they cannot
help, as they fear their intervention on behalf of local
Christians could lead to riots.

PRAY

Pray for Christians living in Chon-Tash. Pray that they will look
to the Lord for their protection and provision. Ask for strength,
encouragement, grace and blessings in difficult times.


CHURCH MEETING RAIDED
TURKMENISTAN

26 November 2001

A Christian fellowship meeting in a house in Ashgabad was raided
by police and security service officials on 15 November. The
forty-one Christians present were detained and fined, and have
since faced further harassment from the authorities.

After being held for several hours most of the church members were
released, but ordered to present themselves at police headquarters
the following morning. Five of those arrested were held overnight.
The next day the Christians were interrogated and fined. Most were
fined a sum equivalent to twice the average monthly wage, an amount
they simply cannot afford to pay. Each member of the group has had
their passport confiscated; they will not be returned until the
fines have been paid. Some of the female members of the church are
reported to have fled the building where the interrogation took
place, and run home, after being harassed by officials.

Leonid Malko, a pastor from Russia who was visiting the church when
it was raided, was deported on 17 November. The following day the
leader of the meeting Pastor Vladimir Shamrai, also from Russia,
and Olga, his Kazakh wife, were also forced to leave the country.
Ishan and Svetlana Annamukhammedova, the Turkmen couple who invited
the Russian pastors to the church, were summoned for further
questioning on 21 November, together with Olga Ryzhkova, in whose
flat the church gathering was held. All three were warned that
their homes will be seized and they will be banished from the
capital if there are any further church meetings.

Olga Nuryeva, another member of the church, was also summoned for
further questioning two days later. The director of the music
school where she teaches has also been summoned, leading to fears
that he may be pressurised into firing her. Other members of the
church fear that they too could be in danger of losing their jobs.
There is also concern that Tamara Nikolayevna, another church member,
might lose her place as an in-patient at Ashgabad cancer hospital.

In other news from Turkmenistan a former foreign minister has
revealed how Christianity has been 'crushed' under Turkmenistan's
President Saparmurat Niyazov. The activities of the Russian
Orthodox Church, the only Christian denomination legally recognised
in Turkmenistan, are reported to have been almost entirely
neutralised. Dozens of churches confiscated during the Soviet period
have not been returned, and permission to construct new church
buildings has consistently been refused. The secret service are
monitoring every believer, and they regularly photograph religious
gatherings. Other denominations face even greater intimidation and
opposition. The interview with former minister Boris Shikhmuradov
was conducted by Keston News Service.

PRAY

Pray for the members of the Christian fellowship in Ashgabad and
across Turkmenistan. Ask the Lord to bless and encourage them at
this deeply distressing time. Pray for protection for the
fellowship in Ashgabad and for its members. Pray that the harassment
they are facing will stop, and that the church will be able to
continue meeting.

Source: Keston News Service



BARNABAS FUND E-MAIL NEWS SERVICE
The Barnabas Fund's e-mail news service provides our supporters
with short urgent news briefs and prayer requests for suffering
Christians around the world.

Please do share these news items with your Christian friends and
churches. All news items are available on our website in a more
colourful user-friendly presentation format which you can access,
print and pass on.

If you are not already receiving these news briefs directly from
the Barnabas Fund and would like to, please contact us with your
name, postal and e-mail addresses, and details of the church you
attend.

The Barnabas Fund, The Old Rectory, River Street, PEWSEY,
Wiltshire, SN9 5DB, UK, Tel 01672 564938, Fax 01672 565030,
E-mail info@barnabasfund.org Web www.barnabasfund.org
 

Abrahamic-Faith