Persecution of Christians in Uzbekistan intensified recently after the nation’s Supreme Court imposed a ban not only on the activities of unregistered churches, but also the registered churches.
On Nov. 9, the Uzbekistan's Supreme Court ruled to keep the ban imposed on the Emmanuel Full Gospel Protestant Church in Nukus, the capital of the north-western autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan, despite of the Church’s registered status, according to Norway-based Forum 18.Forum 18, which monitors religious persecution in Communist and former Soviet states, noted that Emmanuel Church was the last legal Protestant Church in north-west Uzbekistan.
"The court took no account of the church's views and the verdict means only one thing: it thinks the Church doesn't exist," one Protestant involved in the case told Forum 18 from Tashkent on Nov. 9. "This means the judicial system has again – on the usual basis – committed the crudest violation, disregarding the arguments of the church's lawyer."
Emmanuel Church has been threatened with closure since June, after the board of the Justice Ministry in Karakalpakstan formally removed registration from the church on May 4. The removal has been confirmed by both the first deputy Justice Minister of the Karakalpakstan Klara Alasheva and Protestant sources, according to a previous Forum 18 report.
In September 2004, Forum 18 reported that the church was accused for carrying missionary activity among fellow-students of Nukus University and holding its services in premises registered for business purposes, which are both violations of the law.
Alasheva told Forum 18 that two church members had actually been fined for violating the law. "Our decision to close down the church was not immediate," Alasheva therefore argued. "We warned them in writing last year about their missionary activity."The court took no account of the church's views and the verdict means only one thing: it thinks the Church doesn't exist.
Protestant Involved in Court Battle
Nevertheless, the Church has denied the claims and has continued to appeal for its existence over the last five months. On Nov. 9, the Supreme Court finally ruled not to lift the ban on the Church’s activity.
Meanwhile, the Full Gospel Church congregation in Bakhor mahalla (local district) of Tashkent's Mirobad district has been banned from meeting since late October as well, according to Forum 18. It was reported that "every day at some time or other the local policeman visits the church building.”
First deputy head of the Mirobad administration, Alisher Nabiev, insisted that the church must gain official registration before it can function, Forum 18 reported. Church members, however, argued that "they are already registered as part of the Tashkent church."
