Uzbek authorities trying to seize Baptist land

Authorities in Uzbekistan -- a country criticized for persecuting religious communities -- are attempting to seize land the state-registered Baptist Union is using for summer camps for children and families.

The Norway-based religious freedom organization Forum 18 reported that the state claims the Baptist Union "illegally" purchased the land in 2000 from a restaurant chain which had originally bought the land in 1993 from the government's Department of Privatization and Deregulation of Property (DPD).

The DPD claims that in 2004, local residents complained that the Baptists were running their camp on land that used to be a cemetery, Forum 18 reported. On June 18, the DPD brought the case to the Tashkent Economic Court, arguing the Baptist Union must return the land to the state, basing the claim on the Deregulation and Privatization of Property Law of 2006.

Baptists who wish to remain unnamed for fear of government reprisals set forth a number of arguments to Forum 18 in their defense, including.... Keep reading