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03-Sep-2002

Keston News Service reports this incident of believers being persecuted.

Russia:

Independent Baptist Church faces liquidation hearing.

Liquidation of the independent Baptist church in the Pacific port of Vanino is due to be considered by a local court tomorrow (29 August), Keston has learned. Under Russia’s 1997 law on religion, the church would be able to try to register again only after a 15-year wait, during which it would be deprived of rights as distributing literature and inviting foreign citizens. Dan Pollard, the church’s founder, has still to be permitted to return to Vanino, despite a May ruling by a court declaring invalid a previous decision not to admit him to the Russian Federation until March 2004. "It is apparent" he said "that they don’t want me there so that they can liquidate our church without interference."

Please see http://www.keston.org for details on this case and other examples of religious persecution in communist and post-communist lands.

The Voice Of The Martyrs reports the following persecution incidents.

China:

Christians Disappearing

Seventy-one Christians have disappeared or been secretly arrested in recent months, mostly in July, according to the Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China. In an Associated Press article on August 23, the New York-based organization said that this is likely preparation for the Communist Party’s national congress,expected this autumn. Most of those arrested were in rural areas of the northern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin.It is common for Chinese authorities to arrest those who might"embarrass" the Communist Party during high-profile events. The Persecution & Prayer Alert reported on several arrests in February 2002,coinciding with the visit of US President Bush.

Uzbekistan:

Believers not Allowed to Have Bibles.

On August 9, 2002, police raided a home in the town of Khodzhali in north-west Uzbekistan where thirteen Protestant Christians had gathered. Without a search warrant, they seized religious literature, including a Bible. All thirteen were later fined under Article 240 of the Administrative Code for meeting as an unregistered religious association. According to a report by Keston News Service on August 22, the police told them that Uzbek citizens are not allowed to have Bibles. Authorities have since denied that Bibles are prohibited but stand behind the charges. Uzbekistan is well known for taking extremely harsh measures against Protestant Christians and other religious groups not officially approved. It is nearly impossible for religious communities to register with the government and those who do not register face continued harassment, fines, and church closures. On August 21, Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to US Secretary of State, Colin Powell asking that Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan be designated "countries of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act. They list 116 documented convictions of religious prisoners in Uzbekistan.

Please check http://www.persecution.net to learn more about persecuted Christians and what can be done to help them.

Yours,

Bruce Atchison.

ve6xtc@telusplanet.net

http://gideon.www2.50megs.com

http://help-for-you.com

   

email: ve6xtc@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca