Christian Persecution: Uzbekistan Baptists jailed for ‘unapproved worship,’ family in India forced to cremate loved ones, denied burial spaces
The global community continues to struggles multiple religions, with extreme persecution against Christians running rampant in some parts of the world.
Earlier this month, in Uzkekistan, Christians were punished for unapproved worship, even spending time in jail over ambiguous charges. In India, Christians in a small village were denied burial space for a loved one and pressured into cremating the deceased.
UZBEKISTAN: Five-day jail, fines for unapproved worship
From Forum 18, comes the story of Nabijon Bolikulov, who was jailed in Karshi for five days and three fellow Baptists, who were fined for meeting for worship without state permission.
The Judge told Bolikulov: “Do your prayers at home…It is against the law of our state to meet for worship without state registration.”
This group argued they did not break the Constitution or international human rights law. The judge failed to explain exactly what part of the law the Baptists had broken.
“Each time they come they film us and record our names,” Nabijon Bolikulov told Forum 18 after his release from a five-day jail term. “And then they gradually punish our people whose names they record.”
The Forum story noted other examples, one in Urgench, a town in the north-western Khorezm Region, where two officers from the local police Department for the Struggle with Extremism and Terrorism broke into the home of a Protestant.
They handed him an official warning that he must not participate in unlawful religious meetings, must not keep religious literature in his home, must not teach religious doctrines, and must not violate the Religion Law.
In the capital Tashkent, a Baptist has failed to overturn on appeal an illegal fine and the destruction of a memory chip with family photos. The original court illegally put Alina Chernikova on trial without informing her that a trial was taking place. Both the original court and the appeal court also illegally failed to supply her with copies of their decisions within the legally specified time.
Check out Forum 18 for more details and other coverage HERE
Denied burial, Christian family cremates body
In India, a story from the Marnaiyan village, conflict escalated over a family of Christian converts seeking to bury a deceased woman, Surinder Kaur alias Chhindo, but was denied permission the people.
As her son, Manpreet, and the family prepared the body for burial, the people started protesting the Christians, then claimed there would be no space and the limited space should not be used for the woman’s remains. Villagers said when Chhindo’s husband, Mangat Ram had died nearly six years ago, the situation became tense for the same reason.
The office bearers of Pastor Association and Christian Front State President Laurence Choudhary, also reached out and stressed for the dead body to be buried in the ground of the village.
Christian Front State President Laurence Chowdhary said, “Christian population in Hoshiarpur district at present is about 1 lakh. Due to the non-availability of graveyard to bury the dead bodies of Christians in about 80 per cent of the villages, we have to face many hardships to bury the dead body according to our religion.”
Ultimately, the villagers persuaded and pressured the family into cremating the body.
More over at the Tribune India