UZBEKISTAN CHRISTIANS GO UNDERGROUND

A decade after the Soviet empire collapsed, Christian communities in some former Soviet republics are still at risk of eradication by their governments. Keston News Service reports Uzbekistan Christians meet underground to avoid government apprehension.

Elsewhere, there are reports of harsh treatment of Christians throughout the former Soviet Union, including detention and torture of pastors.

KNS said that about 50 members of a Protestant congregation in the town of Muinak, situated in Uzbekistan's autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, are harassed by the local authorities.

They are forced to hold meetings secretly in the nearby desert as their pastor, Salavat Seregabaev, is under surveillance. The police and national security service records visitors to his home.

The town's mayor, Jarylkan Tursunbekov, warned Mr. Seregabaev two months ago in a letter that an unregistered Christian congregation was not permitted.

"We will not allow any Christian agitation in Muinak," he told KNS. The news agency quoted Mayor Tursunbekov as saying that in view of the difficult social conditions in Muinak, Christian activity is not acceptable.

Muinak is seen as one of the poorest regions in Central Asia and a symbol of one of the 20th century's greatest ecological disasters. Thirty years ago it was a major port on the Aral Sea, but as a result of lower water levels, it now is over 60 miles from the shore. Most of the town was involved in the fishing industry and is now unemployed, due to the drying up of the sea.

KNS said that persecution also continues in neighboring Kazakstan, where police tied a local Protestant to a chair and threatened to cut out his tongue unless he denied Christ. He was sent for forced treatment in a psychiatric hospital and was released only after international protests.

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