News / Thoughts

Uzbekistan: Secret prayer meeting raided

Last Monday (9th January), ten Christians from Uzbekistan were arrested in the middle of a secret prayer meeting.

They were accused of meeting illegally and the taken to a police station where they were questioned for several hours before being released late that night.

“I know that God is with us in all these troubles, but I feel like sometimes I lose the hope, sometimes it is too much,” said one woman who was amongst those arrested. “Please, pray for me to refresh my strength and faithfulness.”

A month earlier, one of the Christians in the group had been accused of illegally meeting and was fined almost £495 – a big amount of money in Uzbekistan.

More about Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is number 16 on the 2017 Open Doors World Watch List – a ranking of the countries where Christians face the the most severe persecution for their faith.

Uzbekistan is ruled by a strict authoritarian regime. Christians that don’t belong to the Russian Orthodox Church have to meet in secret. They are viewed as ‘extremists’ and are subject to secret monitoring, police raids, imprisonment and fines. Believers from a Muslim Background experience additional pressure from their families and communities to return to Islam.

Source: Open Doors

Pray now…

• For the ten believers who were arrested, that God would be with them during this trial
• That despite the challenges, believers in Uzbekistan would be able to spread the gospel to those around them
• That the new president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, would have a more tolerant attitude toward Christians in his country and that he would come to know God’s love.