Six Seventh-day Adventists were arrested while meeting in a private apartment in Turkmenabad, Turkmenistan, November 16, according to church sources in the region. Several hours later the group was released from police custody, but authorities seized all their religious books and audio and video materials.

The owner of the apartment reports that police also confiscated her legal documents proving ownership of the home, and church members fear she may be evicted. During the past year authorities in Turkmenistan have threatened to seize the property of any citizens who hold religious meetings in their homes.

One source in central Asia reports that the recent Adventist arrests were part of a larger crackdown in which 50 people throughout Turkmenistan, both Christians and non-Christians, were arrested in mid-November. According to Keston News Service, members of a Protestant church in the city of Ashgabad were forced to pay large fines and two foreign members were deported.

The developments are the latest in a series of government crackdowns. Authorities have already destroyed an Adventist church in Ashgabad (see ANN Report November 20, Turkmenistan: ‘Crushing’ of Christianity blamed on Highest Authorities) and periodically summon church members to police headquarters for interrogation.

Ten Adventists live in Turkmenabad (formerly Chardjou), a mid-sized city near the Uzbek border. In October 2000 the only Adventist pastor working in Turkmenistan, Pavel Fedotov, was arrested and jailed for three days while visiting Turkmenabad.

While Turkmenistan claims to allow freedom of religion, in practice only Sunni Muslims and the Russian Orthodox Church are permitted to worship unhindered.