Barnabas Fund
The pastor of a church in Tajikistan has called for prayer after secret police raided a church worship service in March.
Police took photographs and filmed the congregation. They also attempted to search church ministry offices, without the permission or presence of the church leaders, and confiscated a piece of Christian literature. After the service, the police questioned the two church leaders at length before leaving. The pastors of the church have already been given two warnings and fined. If a third fine and warning are issued, the church faces the possibility of being shut down.
Previous cases
The import and distribution of religious literature has to be approved by authorities in Tajikistan and similar confiscations have led to Christians being imprisoned. In July 2017, Pastor Bakhrom Kholmatov was jailed for three years after police confiscated ‘subversive’ hymnbooks from his church.
