Uzbekistan has imposed a massive fine on a Protestant man for owning a Christian film. On September 29, police raided Murat Jalalov's home in Tashkent -- apparently on the instructions of the National Security Service secret police. They confiscated 75 DVDs and CDs. The discs included the Uzbek version of "The Jesus Film." The confiscated materials were analyzed by the national state Religious Affairs Committee. The committee declared that the particular film "could be used among local ethnicities for missionary purposes" and was therefore banned. All confiscated materials were ordered to be destroyed.
Please pray for the church in Uzbekistan. Thank the Lord for the faithfulness of the believers and their desire to spread the Gospel in spite of their restrictions. Pray for all those involved in church leadership and evangelization; may they be bold and courageous, yet wise and discerning.
Read more about the persecuted Church in Uzbekistan at the Uzbekistan Country Report.
Ten Protestants were recently jailed for between three and five days, and three were fined 80 times the minimum monthly wage following a brutal raid on July 28 in Tashkent's Mirzo-Ulugbek District. Twenty-three people, including small children, were detained and two personal Bibles, four songbooks and one textbook of violin lessons were confiscated. They then began pushing the believers forcefully into cars outside. Some of the believers were kicked and hit while they were dragged out of the house. Elsewhere a court has ordered that officially permitted Christian books and leaflets found in a raid should be confiscated and destroyed, violating Uzbek legal procedure. (Source: Forum 18) 