Uzbekistan: Sunday morning raids
On 25 November, 20 plain-clothes officials,
joined
later by 20 more, raided Baptists
meeting for Sunday morning worship in
Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent.
For the first known time in such raids,
members of
the military –
the National
Guard – took part in the raid. Other agencies
included
the State Security Service
(SSS) secret police, the Justice Ministry, and
Yashnobod District Police. When Baptists
asked why the SSS secret police and the
National Guard were on the raid, the raiders responded: ‘It is a special operation’. Officials
told the Baptists: ‘We as the state cannot
adjust to you, you need to adjust to our laws.’