No one was available at the government's Religious Affairs Committee in the capital Tashkent to explain to Forum 18 the upsurge in moves against religious minorities. Committee chairman Artyk Yusupov was not in the office on 23 August. The man who answered the phone of Committee specialist Begzot Kadyrov told Forum 18 that it was a wrong number.
But Ikrom Saipov, an official at the government's National Human Rights Centre involved in religious issues, vigorously defended government policy. "We don't repress religious believers because of their faith," he insisted to Forum 18 from Tashkent on 23 August.
When informed about the recent harassment of the Khalkabad Baptist congregation and the sentencing of the Pentecostal pastor and two Jehovah's Witnesses, Saipov responded: "I can't comment on those individual cases as I have no documentation about them. But if religious believers have problems they can bring their cases to us. We can then ask the relevant authorities."
Saipov denied that Uzbekistan's laws restrict religious activity. He denied that the law's ban on unregistered religious activity represents a restriction. "Religious organisations must register - they just apply to the Justice Ministry for registration," he told Forum 18.
Saipov was unable to explain why unregistered religious activity is banned and why so many religious communities that want legal status have had their registration applications arbitrarily rejected. He was also unable to explain why religious literature is censored.
Local Baptists told Forum 18 that after the Khalkabad church's Sunday service on 29 July, held in Zulfikarov's home in his absence, five church members stayed behind to talk. "Without any warning seven people in civilian clothes and with a video-camera burst into the flat," church members told Forum 18. "They immediately started a search."
One church member, Odiljon Solijonov, asked the intruders who they were. Instead of answering, the intruders - who turned out to be police officers - pushed him up against the wall and said: "We're the ones who ask the questions."
Church members complained that the officers' behaviour was "crude". They confiscated all the Christian literature they could find, which church members complain was "illegal", and tried to force the five church members to sign statements. When Solijonov told the others not to sign anything, the officers threatened him physically.
All five plus Solijonov's five-month-old child were then taken to the Pap District police station eight kilometres (five miles) away. Solijonov's wife Nilufar was given no food or water, despite having a young child to feed. All except Solijonov were freed after six hours. Solijonov refused to sign any statement and was held until 1am. Solijonov returned to the police station in the morning, where he was held for a further nine hours.
