Religious Freedom Tightening in Former Soviet Republics (COLUMN)
By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union sparked hopes among Christians for a new era of religious freedom. Sadly, these dreams have been only partially realized. This has been confirmed in the 2016 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christians are most severely persecuted for their faith.
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Uzbekistan Jails Baptists, Threatens Church, report
By BosNewsLife Special Correspondent Marshall Ramsey with BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest
TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Police in Uzbekistan reportedly jailed ten Baptists for up to five days and fined three others 80 times the monthly minimum wage on charges of unauthorized worship at home, BosNewsLife monitored Friday, August 7.
Uzbekistan Christians Sentenced For “Teaching Religion”
By BosNewsLife News Center
TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Supporters of a Baptist house church Christian in Uzbekistan have asked for prayers amid concerns she faces up to three years imprisonment on charges of "illegally teaching religion", BosNewsLife learned Monday, July 23.
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Evangelical Group Condemns Uzbekistan Crackdown On Churches
By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest
TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- An influential evangelical organization, which claims to represent over 400 million Christians worldwide, expressed concerns Tuesday, June 1, about police raids on Protestant congregations in Uzbekistan and the detention of several Christians in the former Soviet republic.
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Uzbekistan Restrictions On Released Pastor; Others Facing Prosecution
By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest
BUDAPEST/TASHKENT (BosNewsLife)-- A frail Christian pastor who was released from prison in Uzbekistan last month still faced severe restrictions on his freedom Saturday, February 19, and authorities plan to prosecute other believers for involvement in an unregistered local Baptist church, Christians said.
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Kazakhstan Destroys Bibles, Uzbekistan Attacks Convert
By BosNewsLife News Center
ASTANA/TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A court in Kazakhstan has ordered the destruction of 121 pieces of Christian literature, including Bibles, while in neighboring Uzbekistan an elderly convert from Islam is in "great distress" after police raided his home, Christians said Thursday, March 21.
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Mounting Concerns Over Detained Uzbekistan Pastor
By Eric Leijenaar, BosNewsLife Senior Special Correspondent reporting from the Netherlands and BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos at BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest
TASHKENT/BUDAPEST/AMSTERDAM (BosNewsLife)-- An international protest was underway Tuesday, May 12, to obtain the release of a detained, frail, evangelical pastor in Uzbekistan, who came to symbolize what rights investigators described as widespread persecution of Christians and other minorities in Central Asia.
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North Korea, Iran World’s “Top Persecutors” Of Christians, Report Says
By BosNewsLife News Center with BosNewsLife's Senior Special Correspondent Johan Th. Bos reporting from the Netherlands
AMSTERDAM/WASHINGTON D.C. (BosNewsLife)-- One of the world's largest mission agencies, Open Doors, named North Korea and Iran Wednesday, November 6, as "the worst persecutors of Christians".
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Uzbekistan Police Raid Protestant Holiday Group, Church
By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos
BUDAPEST/TASHKENT (BosNewsLife)-- Police in Uzbekistan have raided a group of about 80 Protestant Christians who were on on a holiday together to learn more about their Christian faith, after an earlier crackdown on an evangelical church, religious rights activists said Monday, December 17
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