According to Eldos' lawyer, Zhanna Askar, before the attack, the assailants had broken into private property, threatened him and gave him an ultimatum that he could leave the village or they would return and kill him.
Eldos was given this ultimatum: Become a Muslim, leave your village or we will kill you.
When Eldos chose to stand firm in his faith in Jesus and not leave the village, the men began to shout at him and beat him, leaving him with a concussion, a broken jaw and nose, four crooked teeth and many other injuries. Thanks be to the Lord, he remained alive, writes his lawyer Zhanna Askar.
Zhanna Askar also reports that just as Eldos was beaten, the police made him sign a handwritten statement, which he had not written himself, portraying the crime as an expression of hooliganism. According to the lawyer, this is not the case, as Eldos was attacked because he had become a Christian.
The lawyer calls on the Kyrgyz authorities to ensure that the principles of the rule of law are not only mentioned in reports to countries providing development aid to the country, but also in practice.
One of our contacts visited Eldos in the hospital
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has been considered one of the countries in Central Asia where Christians had the greatest freedom to practice their faith. Successive presidents have been relatively secular, but due to poverty in the country have allowed Turkey and others to fund the construction of mosques and Islamic-based schools.
One of the Danish European Mission's contacts tells us a little about the development. He has just visited Eldos in hospital and is currently investigating what we can do for him and his family.
He explains: "Islamization is increasing in Kyrgyzstan, and what happened to Eldos also concerns the rest of us, the approximately 12,000 evangelical Christians in the country. A well-known imam here in Kyrgyzstan has gained a large following, including young people, and he urges Muslims to oppose Christians being buried with Muslims. It makes it difficult for Christians to be buried. It doesn't matter to me personally where I am buried, but it prevents many Kyrgyz from accepting Christ that they cannot be sure of being buried (There are examples of Christians not being allowed to be buried in official cemeteries, but instead buried secretly in deserted places in the mountains, ed). However, people need God and we continue to serve God. After all, this is not Afghanistan, we still have some freedom.", he concludes.
Please pray for Eldos, the Christians of Kyrgyzstan and the country's leadership.
