In Uzbekistan, Pastor Dmitry Shestakov had to celebrate his 40th birthday on 09.04 in a labor camp.
Pictured is Dmitry Shestakov with his family - from whom he is now separated.
On 09.03.07 he received four years in an open labor camp for his Christian activities. The judgment justified the deprivation of liberty on the grounds that "the possibility of re-education did not exist if the person was not isolated from society."
Later the sentence was changed to labor camp. Shestakov's lawyer appealed the verdict 16.03.07, but a new court date has not been set. Since 2003, Shestakov has been the pastor of a fully licensed branch of the Full Gospel Church in Andijan.
Shestakov's eight-year-old daughter Vera writes: "Dad is good, loves fun and is generous. I miss him a lot. Mommy often cries and worries about him."
