Uzbekistan

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Over 210,000 Christians in Uzbekistan face more danger and uncertainty after Uzbekistan's parliament appointed Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev as interim president following the death of strongman leader Islam Karimov, missionaries told BosNewsLife.

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.

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.

By BosNewsLife News Center TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Two Christian families in Uzbekistan faced uncertain future Wednesday, May 14, after receiving massive fines for meeting in a private home to read the Bible and pray together, church members and rights investigators said. Alisher Abdullayev and Veniamin Nemirov were fined along with another member of their home church in October 2012 for unregistered religious activity and teaching religion "illegally".

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest ASHGABAT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Devoted Christians in three Central Asian countries are harassed and detained by authorities in ways resembling the Soviet-era, activists and local believers suggested Friday, September 9.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Millions of Christians around the world were expected Sunday, November 13, to participate in the 'International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church' (IDOP), amid mounting concerns over a global crackdown on devoted believers.  

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest ALMATY/FRANKFURT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A Protestant pastor who faced deportation from Kazakhstan to his native Uzbekistan and up to 15 years imprisonment for leading an unregistered house church has been flown to safety, his supporters confirmed late Wednesday, December 5.

By BosNewsLife News Center ASTANA/TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Evangelical Christians in Central Asia remained concerned Tuesday, June 4, about the plight of Pastor Sharofat Allamova who was sentenced to 1.5 years "corrective labor" in Uzbekistan for distributing Christian literature while in neighboring Kazakhstan a pastor was detained after distributing red tea during communion, activists and missionaries said.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest BUDAPEST/ASTANA (BosNewsLife)– Kazakhstan has threatened to extradite a detained Protestant house church pastor to his native Uzbekistan where he faces up to 15 years imprisonment for "illegal" religious teaching and Christian literature distribution, BosNewsLife monitored Saturday, November 24.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest TASHKENT/BUDAPEST-- Police in Uzbekistan broke up a Protestant youth conference, detaining dozens of Christians, and separately raided and Protestant church feeding homeless people for allegedly violating local regulations, a religious rights group said Wednesday, April 21.