His wife, Maya Nurlieva, and the members of his church strongly deny the accusations. They also deny that the five people who have made the accusations are members of the church, as the indictment claims. Three of them have only visited the church a few times, and the other two are unknown to the church.
Other charges that are denied are that Pastor Nurliev is a recovering drug addict. According to his wife, he has not touched drugs since he became a Christian in 1999. However, he suffers from diabetes and his wife is very concerned about his health, especially since she has been denied visitation. His wife and the congregation also reject the prosecution's claim that Pastor Nurliev is unemployed and living off the money others earn. Until his arrest, he worked as a barber. "Up to 20 members of the congregation will try to attend the trial - everyone is ready to speak in defense of my husband," Maya Nurlieva told Forum 18. She has asked the OSCE center in the capital Ashgabat to send independent observers to the trial.
The church has stopped holding services since the arrest. The congregation has also been denied registration several times and the pastor has been put on a list of people banned from leaving the country by the secret police.
Source: Forum 18 News Service / Danish European Mission
