Kyrgyz Pastor ‘Suffers Brain Injuries’ After Reported Torture, UN Experts Raise Alarm

Key Facts

Published: October 23, 2025 Location: BISHKEK/BUDAPEST Source: Forum 18, Eyewitness Accounts

• Pastor Pavel Shreider, a 65-year-old Protestant leader in Kyrgyzstan, has suffered brain injuries and cognitive impairment allegedly caused by torture at the hands of secret police.
• The True and Free Reform Adventist Church was banned and branded “extremist” after refusing state registration, leaving members without a place of worship.
• UN Special Rapporteurs have cited “serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment,” while Kyrgyz authorities have offered no substantive response.
• Human-rights groups warn that the government’s abolition of the independent torture prevention center further erodes accountability and religious freedom.

By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BISHKEK/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) –  A Protestant pastor in Kyrgyzstan who was reportedly tortured by secret police has suffered traumatic brain injuries and lasting cognitive impairment, according to his family, doctors, and United Nations experts cited by rights monitors.

The 65-year-old Pastor Pavel Shreider, leader of the True and Free Reform Adventist Church, was diagnosed with “traumatic brain injury” and “cognitive impairment” after repeated medical examinations, according to a letter from Prison Chief Major Azat Kudaybergenov to the family dated September 22.

Shreider is serving a three-year prison sentence on what supporters call fabricated charges of “inciting enmity.” He has now been moved to Prison No. 31, a medical unit in Bishkek, following months of appeals from relatives who said his health deteriorated in custody.

His daughter, Vera Shreider, told the religious freedom news service Forum 18 that doctors found encephalopathy, or brain damage. “We saw him very weak during the September 9 appeal hearing,” she said, adding that the transfer to medical care came “only more than two weeks later.”

REPORTS OF TORTURE

According to Forum 18, Kyrgyzstan’s National Security Committee (NSC) secret police raided Pastor Shreider’s home and those of ten church members in November 2024. Several were detained and allegedly tortured during interrogations.

In a written complaint that month, Pastor Shreider said officers “hit me with an iron pipe to force me to confess that I committed crimes” and “gave me blows on my head, chest, and spine.” Police have denied the abuse.

Forum 18 reported that church member Igor Tsoi was also tortured with a stun gun to pressure him into testifying against the pastor. He sustained multiple injuries but refused to comply, according to sources familiar with his situation.

Five United Nations Special Rapporteurs, including Nazila Ghanea, rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, wrote to Kyrgyz authorities on July 23, citing “serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment” against Shreider and other members of his church.

SEVERAL DETAINEES TARGETED

Their letter described reports that several detainees — including Shreider, Tsoi, Yuri Pauls, and Peter Petkau — were beaten, strangled with plastic bags, and shocked with electric tasers during interrogations.

The rapporteurs asked the government how these actions and the prosecution of Shreider were compatible with Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights obligations. The country’s authoritarian leadership responded briefly on September 20, but did not address the torture allegations in detail, according to U.N. records.

Pastor Shreider was convicted on July 10 by Bishkek’s Birinchi May District Court on charges of “incitement of racial, ethnic, national, religious, or regional enmity.” He was sentenced to three years in a general-regime labor camp and ordered deported to Russia after serving his term. His appeal remains pending.

The True and Free Reform Adventist Church — which declined to register with the state due to religious convictions — was banned by the Alamudin District Court in March 2024 and branded an “extremist” organization. The Supreme Court upheld the ban in August, ruling after just 20 minutes of deliberation, according to Forum 18.

Christians say that since the decision, the church has been unable to meet for worship in its former building in Lenin village near Bishkek, the capital.

LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY

No one has been prosecuted for the reported torture of Shreider or his congregation.

The National Center for the Prevention of Torture dismissed their complaints, claiming abuse “could not be corroborated.”

Kyrgyzstan is a signatory to the U.N. Convention against Torture, which obliges governments to investigate and prosecute such cases.

Yet in June 2025, the Zhogorku Kenesh (Parliament) voted to abolish the country’s independent torture prevention center, transferring oversight to a government-appointed ombudsperson — a move that rights advocates say undermines accountability.

Pastor Shreider’s family blames his fragile health on both age and the beatings he endured. “He probably experiences stress every day because of his arrest,” they said. “And maybe most importantly, police officers beat him when he was arrested and gave him blows to his head.”

As the pastor continues treatment in a prison hospital, his relatives and church members are urging the international community to press for justice and his release.

GROWING PRESSURE ON CHRISTIANS

The case has added to mounting concerns about religious freedom in Kyrgyzstan, which ranks 47th on the Open Doors World Watch List of countries where it says Christians face the most persecution.

Open Doors describes Kyrgyzstan as a nation where “increasing authoritarian control, rising nationalism, and pressure from Muslim-majority communities” restrict Christian activity.

Believers who worship outside state-sanctioned churches face surveillance, harassment, and prosecution under vague “extremism” laws.

Advocates say Pastor Shreider’s ordeal reflects a broader pattern of intimidation under the country’s authoritarian leadership, which continues to tighten control over independent faith groups and civil society.

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