In early May, police in Navoi Region of central Uzbekistan stopped four Protestants from various churches who were travelling together by car from Samarkand to Navoi.
‘We understood that the police were informed of their arrival in town and were waiting for them there’, a fellow Protestant from the capital Tashkent said on 15 May. Officers at Karmana District police station then interrogated the four men, torturing one until he lost consciousness and threatening to rape another. The Criminal Police are believed to have already handed administrative cases against the four to court, the Protestant added.
Surveillance
The driver of the car, Murot Turdiyev, is under constant close police surveillance and his car has often been stopped. Like other individuals prominent in religious communities or punished earlier for exercising the right to freedom of religion or belief, his name appears to be listed in the Preventative Registry. When they detained Turdiyev and his friends, officers specifically asked if they were listed in the registry at their home addresses.
