 Pastor Salavat, seen here with his daughter, has been harassed for his Christian witness |
On July 9, security police harassed a pastor and confiscated his laptop while he was waiting for his wife at a market. As Pastor Salavat waited for his wife in their car, two men in military uniforms approached the pastor and asked him to step out of the car. The men grabbed Salavat and treated him roughly. Salavat demanded to see their IDs, which they showed him before searching his car without permission or cause. "It looked as though they were looking for something specific," Salavat said. It soon became clear that they were searching for his laptop, which they confiscated without offering a warrant or receipt. Ten days later, Salavat's laptop was returned without explanation.
Pastor Salavat spent six months in prison for leading an unregistered church in Uzbekistan. He was later sentenced to a year of forced labour for continuing his Christian work (for more information, click here).
Pray for peace and strength for Salavat and his family. Pray that those who oppose Christians will be moved by their steadfast faith. Pray that Uzbekistan's leaders will respect freedom of religion.
To learn more about the challenges believers face in Uzbekistan, go to the Uzbekistan Country Report.
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