UZBEKISTAN: Persecution of Christians Escalating

This week I thought we'd focus a little bit on what's happening in Uzbekistan.  Here's some of the latest news we have.

Christians in Uzbekistan house churches are opting to meet in groups of a maximum of five people or less, to avoid being arrested, imprisoned, deported or fined nearly a year’s salary by the government.

The Voice of the Martyrs recently received information from a contact working inside Uzbekistan that the government was expelling missionaries, people working with non-governmental organizations and local Christians.

“It is typical to find that churches are splitting large groups of people into groups of five or less to avoid persecution. Church activities are banned and if you are caught leading an unregistered religious group the fines can equal nearly a year’s salary.

They make it impossible to register a church,” the VOM source said.

VOM is helping Christians in Uzbekistan as the government continues to make it difficult for them to freely live out their faith.