Baptist Congregation Appeals Against Closure

By Worthy News Europe Bureau in Budapest

DUSHANBE/BUDAPEST (Worthy News)– Members of a Baptist congregation in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe have appealed to the City Court against a ban on their activity, which was apparently imposed because they meet in a private home without state registration, Worthy News learned Wednesday, December 2.

Judge Soliya Ismailova of Somoni District Court, who handed down the ban, defended her decision and denied that this violated the Baptists’ freedom of worship. “The Law demands that all non-government organisations register,” she said in a statement distributed by the news service of rights group Forum 18.

The court-imposed ban came after an October 9 raid on a Baptist church service by authorities and security forces, Forum 18 said.

Baptist Christians have reportedly said they are “continuing to meet for worship despite the ban.” State control of religious activity has been steadily tightening in 2009, including through a new Religion Law, according to observers.

MORE TENSIONS

News of the ban followed news that elsewhere in the region, in Kazakhstan, a Kazakh-born Christian leader holding a German passport faces deportation after local officials reportedly objected to a worship service.

Forum 18 said authorities wanted to “punish” Viktor Leven, a married father of six children, for leading a worship service of a Council of Churches Baptist congregation in Akmola Region.

Christians have reported an increase in government-backed raids and other measures targeting independent groups and churches in several former Soviet countries, including Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.

Lift this up in Prayer

15

people are currently praying.

Latest Worthy News

Fair Use Notice:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Books by George Whitten

The Biblical Fall Feasts Revealed https://biblicalfallfeasts.com

An in-depth look at the Biblical fall feasts and their prophetic significance for believers today.

Buy on Amazon

The Eternal Kingdom Revealed https://eternalkingdomrevealed.com

The Eternal Kingdom Revealed traces the Kingdom of God as the central story of Scripture, from before creation to the restoration of all things.

Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.