Uzbekistan

Advocacy

Shestakov released

Uzbek Christian pastor can now be reunited with his family, from whom he has been separated for around four years. However, he has to live under virtual house arrest

By Samuel

Share article

On January 21, 2011, Dmitri Shestakov was released from prison. He was sentenced to four years in an open labor camp on 9 March 2007 for his Christian activities. The judge 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. Since 2003, Shestakov had been the pastor of a fully licensed branch of the Full Gospel Church in Andijan.

Shestakov's daughter Vera wrote about her father when he was celebrating his 40th birthday in prison: "Dad is good, loves fun and is generous. I miss him a lot. Mom often cries and worries about him." His wife Marina and their three daughters are now happy that he is back home.

Despite his release, Dmitry Shestakov is still not truly free as he has been placed under "administrative surveillance," according to news service Forum 18.

Among other things, he must report in person to the police station almost every week for a year, he is not allowed outside his home between 9pm and 6am, he is not allowed to leave his home town without police permission and he is not allowed to visit public places such as restaurants etc. The period during which he is under administrative surveillance can be extended and the penalty for violating the surveillance regulations is up to four years in prison. The authorities have refused to explain the reason for these restrictions to Forum 18.