News / Thoughts

Central Asia: Christian men tortured by police

Four men arrested at a secret church meeting in Central Asia have been violently pressured by state police to give up their faith in Jesus. The Christians – who had already been arrested four times in the last few months – spent 15 days in prison, during which they were interrogated and tortured.

“[For] 15 days policemen beat us brutally with police batons,” one of the men, a pastor, tells Open Doors. “They beat off heels, muscles, joints. They also didn’t let us breathe, putting on gas masks and tying hands. The attitude towards us Christians was cruel, inhuman.”

All the beatings were accompanied by interrogations. The men were also forced to spend long periods in high temperatures and were held in cells with almost no water and food.

As a result of the pressure, two of the men renounced their faith.

Furthermore, they now face having to pay huge fines for an ‘illegal religious meeting’ and ‘illegal religious activity’, amounting to more than £660 each.

Open Doors are helping to find the men a lawyer to challenge the judgment and reduce the charges. A local representative said: “Please, pray for the released brothers, especially for those who refused Christ – all of them are broken emotionally. Pray for their physical and emotional condition and for their families… for their recovery.”

Source: Open Doors

Pray now…

• That God would pour out His grace upon the men, particularly those two who recanted their faith, and that they would know His love for them
• May the men be healed quickly of their physical and psychological wounds
• That the families of the men would be comforted by God during this stressful and worrying time
• For believers in this country, that they would be able to endure the persecution and continue to put their faith in Him.