Today’s Martyrs

Resources for understanding current Christian witness and martyrdom

Turkmenistan

Abdurasul Nasyrlayev (son of Tahir Nasyrlayev, arrested during a January 24, 2013 illegal police raid on his Dashoguz home, beaten, released) Aibek Salayev (sentenced to four years in a labor camp on April 12, 2012 in Dashoguz City for "distributing pornography" after being arrested at a religious service, beaten in prison; as of May 28, 2012 is still in prison; released from Seydi Labor Camp in an October 22, 2014 amnesty) Akmurad Nurjanov (sentenced to prison in December 2014 for refusing military service, sentence suspended) Aleksandra (sister of Konstantin Vlaskin, beaten in her home in Turkmenabad on May 6, 2015 by police, religious literature seized) Amirlan Tolkachev (aged 20, sentenced on July 10, 2013 in Turkmenabad to 18 months imprisonment for conscientious objection to military service; released from Seydi Labor Camp in an October 22, 2014 amnesty) Annaberdy Nunnayev (detained on the street in Ashgabad on January 6, 2014, later fined US$206) Arslan Begenchov (aged 18, arrested in Lebap on January 2, 2018 for refusing military service; sentenced to one year's imprisonment on January 17, 2018; appeal denied on February 13, 2018) Arslan Dovletov (convicted and sentenced on January 9, 2013 in Dashoguz to one year imprisonment for refusing military service; transferred to a Seydi, Lebap region labor camp on February 25, 2013) Artur Yangibayev (detained in Seydi, eastern Lebap region on June 16, 2016 for refusing military service, forced to retract his petition for alternative service, released; detained on August 8, 2016; convicted, sentenced on August 30, 2016 to 2 years' imprisonment, sentence suspended) Atamurat Suvkhanov (aged 27, sentenced on March 13, 2013 to one year imprisonment for refusing military service in Dashoguz, in poor health) Azamatjan Narkulyev (aged 18, conscientious objector, sentenced in Danew, Lebap region to one year's imprisonment on January 7, 2019) Bahram Hemdemov (father of Serdar Hemdemov, detained on March 14, 2015 in Turkmenabad,

sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment on May 19, 2015, tortured during pretrial detention; still imprisoned in Seydi Labor Camp as of October 3, 2017) Bahram Shamuradov (arrested during a January 24, 2013 illegal police raid on the Nasyrlayev home in Dashoguz, beaten, passed out after being tied to the cell bars so that he could not touch the floor, found guilty on January 26, 2013 of participation in an illegal religious group and fined two months' wages; arrested in Dashoguz on May 4, 2014, refused to renounce his faith under police pressure, sentenced to four years' imprisonment on a fabricated charge of distributing pornography, transferred on July 2, 2014 to a desert labor camp in Seydi, beaten in prison; released from Seydi Labor Camp in an October 22, 2014 amnesty) Begench Nabatov (sentenced to a 2 year suspended sentence for refusing military service on August 6, 2012 in Ashgabad) Begjan Shirmedov (aged 77, detained and questioned on September 23, 2012 in Dashoguz for possessing religious literature) Bibi Rahmnova (aged 36, wife of Vepa Tuvakov, arrested on July 5, 2014 in Dashoguz along with her husband and 4 year of son after receiving religious literature via train, threatened with death, beaten at the train station and in prison, released on July 7, 2014, charged with hooliganism for resisting police on July 31, 2014; sentenced on August 18, 2014 to four years' imprisonment; suffered "severe physical abuse" from prison staff and prisoners, sentence suspended on appeal on September 2, 2014, released, facing four years’ probation) Charygeldy Jumaev (arrested on February 6, 2015 in Turkmenabad, lost consciousness three times while beaten, sentenced to imprisonment February 6-21, March 16-31, and April 1-15) Danatar Durdyyev (convicted and fined US$2100 in Ashgabad on January 18, 2013 for refusing military service) Dayanch Jumayev (sentenced to 1 year's imprisonment in Ashgabad in February 2016 for refusing military service, subjected to home confinement, one-fifth of his wages seized) Dovran Matyakubov (brother of Vepa Bahromovich Matyakubov, as of May 28, 2012 is still in prison for refusing military service; freed from prison on June 28, 2012; resentenced on December 24, 2012 in Dashoguz to two years imprisonment for refusing military service; released from Seydi Labor Camp in an October 22, 2014 amnesty) Dovlet Byashimov (detained by police on April 18, 2015 while leaving his house in Turkmenabad, released on April 26, 2015) Dovlet Kandymov (sentenced on March 18, 2015 to three successive terms of 15 days' imprisonment in Turkmenabad) Emirjan Jumanazarov (convicted on March 16, 2015 in Turkmenabad of disorderly conduct, sentenced to 15 days' imprisonment, beaten and threatened with electroshock torture, convicted of disorderly conduct on April 1, 2015, sentenced to 15 days' imprisonment)

Eziz Atabayev (aged 20, conscientious objector, sentenced in Dashoguz to two years' imprisonment on December 19, 2018; appeal denied on January 15, 2019) Hemra Annayev (home in Dashoguz raided by MSS secret police without warrant in Autumn 2014, Christian books seized, detained, fined US$57, wife later investigated, fined US$3,429 and terminated from her job) Gelman Rahmetulov (husband of Svetlana Rahmetulov, home in Ashgabad raided by police without warrant or identification on April 12, 2014, religious literature seized, later fined US$57) Fr Grigory Bochurov (Russian citizen, visa not renewed, forced to leave the country in June 2016) Gulzara Gladkova (home in Turkmenabad raided by police on June 21, 2014, guest's computer seized) Gurbangylych Dovletovich Muhammetgulyyev (aged 18, conscientious objector, sentenced in Mary City to one year's imprisonment on November 28, 2018) Ikhlosbek Rozmetov (aged 20, convicted in Yilanly, Gurbansoltan Eje district, Dashoguz province on July 11, 2018 for refusing military service, sentenced to one year's imprisonment, appeal underway) Ilkham Saidov (questioned by MSS secret police on November 12, 2013 in Dashogu about religious activities dating back 15 years, home searched without warrant, 500 books seized, threatened with arrest and deportation despite being a citizen) Pastor Ilmurad Nurliev (husband of Maya Nurliev, questioned by police on September 15-17, 2013 in Mary, extended family and fellow congregants also questioned, one relative told that an officer would tear her head off if she joined "their faith") Jamilya Adylova (arrested on February 6, 2015 in Turkmenabad, beaten, sentenced to imprisonment February 6-21, March 16-31, and April 1-15) Jamshid Kurbanov (sentenced to a 2 year suspended sentence and fined 20 percent of his income for refusing military service on July 10, 2012 in Dashoguz) Juma Nazarov (arrested on May 8, 2012 in Ashgabad for refusing military service: sentenced to 18 months imprisonment on July 23, 2012; still in prison as of October 31, 2012) Juma Nazarov (spouse of Maral Nazarov, home in Ashgabad raided by police without warrant on April 4, 2014, later fined US$57, appeal pending) Kerven Kakabayev (aged 18, sentenced to prison in December 2015 for refusing military service; sentenced in Dashoguz on January 29, 2018 to one year's imprisonment for refusing military service) Klara Shirmedov (wife of Begjan Shirmedov, aged 68, beaten by Dashoguz police on September 23, 2012 until her hands bled after she protested their seizure of their religious literature) Konstantin Sivkov (received a 2 year suspended sentence in Ashgabad between February and August 2016 for refusing military service) Konstantin Vlaskin (brother of Aleksandra, detained by police in Turkmenabad on May 6, 2015

while walking on the street, taken to his home, beaten along with his sister, computer and religious literature seized, still in detention as of May 22, 2015) Mahmud Hudaybergenov (as of October 31, 2012 is still in Seydu Labor Camp, Lebap region for refusing military service; expected release date is August 2013; released on schedule, has returned home) Mahmud Ovezov (Dashogu home invaded by police during choir practice on November 21, 2013, told "Singing about God here is banned", taken into custody and released) Maksat Jumadurdiyev (aged 18, convicted in Danew on July 17, 2018 for refusing military service, sentenced to one year's imprisonment, decided not to appeal) Malahat Gojayev (wife of Umid Gojayev, due to their children’s needs has been unable to work as of April 2014 while her husband is imprisoned) Mansur Masharipov (aged 32, arrested in his Dashoguz home on July 3, 2014, beaten in and on the way to prison, threatened with prison gang rape, forced to sign a document in Turkmen [which he does not know], transferred to a drug rehabilitation center where he was injected with an unknown substance that caused headaches, fever, vomiting, and partial paralysis, fled from the rehab center on July 3, 2014, in hiding; arrested in a park in Ashgabad on June 30, 2016; convicted in Dashoguz on August 18, 2016 of assaulting a police officer in June 2014 and sentenced to one year's imprisonment in a labor camp) Maral Nazarov (spouse of Maral Nazarov, home in Ashgabad raided by police without warrant on April 4, 2014) Matkarim Aminov (as of May 28, 2012 is still in prison for refusing military service; freed from prison on June 27, 2012; resentenced on January 8, 2013 in Dashoguz to two years imprisonment for refusing military service; transferred to a Seydi, Lebap region labor camp on February 25, 2013, beaten by inmates under police orders for refusing to join in Muslim prayers; released from Seydi Labor Camp in an October 22, 2014 amnesty) Maya Nurlieva (wife of Pastor Ilmurad Nurliev, said "We've got no peace" since police conducted questioning of her and the extended family on September 15-17, 2013) Merdan Amanov (aged 19, sentenced to 1 year imprisonment in July 2014 in Ashgabad for refusing military service due to conscientious objection; released from Seydi Labor Camp in an October 22, 2014 amnesty) Merdan Ochanov (received a 2 year suspended sentence in Ashgabad between February and August 2016 for refusing military service) Merdan Tachmuradov (sentenced to a 2 year suspended sentence and fined 20 percent of his income for refusing military service on May 23, 2012 in Dashoguz) Murat Sapargeldyyev (aged 18, sentenced on January 6, 2014 in Bakhtiyarlyk to two years

corrective labor for refusing military service, one fifth of his income is to be handed to the state) Narmurad Mominov (husband, father of five, fined US$265 for possession of an illegal Bible and New Testament on March 3, 2013 in Galkynysh, Lebap Region, unnamed codefendant told by the judge "If you want to know about God, read the Quran"; fined US$286 on February 27, 2015 in Galkynysh, Lebap region, given no jail time, trial for the host of the party not begun) Navruz Nasyrlaev (sentenced to two years in a labor camp on May 1, 2012 in Dashoguz City for refusing military service; as of October 31, 2012 is still in Seydu Labor Camp, Lebap region; being held in the 'strict regime' section of the prison, expected release date is May 2014) Nazargeldy Chariyev (sentenced to a 2 year suspended sentence for refusing military service on June 23, 2012 in Bereket [formerly Gazanjyk]) Ogulbostan Amannazarova (home in Ashgabad raided by police on March 27, 2014, all present detained, later fined US$57) Oleg Piyashev (prohibited on September 23, 2012 from returning to Russia from Ashgabad due to his presence at a Dashoguz religious service and possession of a recorded interview with Begjan Shirmedov concerning Christian poetry, fined 750 manats; as of October 3, 2012 has been allowed to return home to Russia) Pavel Paymov (aged 23, sentenced on February 26, 2014 in Ashgabad to one year's imprisonment for refusing military service, is waiting for the written verdict; released from Seydi Labor Camp in an October 22, 2014 amnesty) Rahim Borjakov (summoned to the Dogry Yol [Serdarabad District] village Council for Religious Affairson February 13, 2013, told that they had sent a letter to the President that called him "very dangerous to society" and that members of his church community had died in "difficult circumstances" [one in an automobile accident and one in childbirth], shown the presidential receipt, told that his fate is in the hands of the people) Ruslan Narkuliyev (aged 21, conscientious objector, sentenced to two years' imprisonment in September 2014, freed from prison on February 17, 2015 in an amnesty) Ruslan Rahmetulov (received a 2 year suspended sentence in Ashgabad between February and August 2016 for refusing military service) Rustam Nazarov (arrested on February 6, 2015 in Turkmenabad, beaten, sentenced on April 2, 2015 to 15 days' imprisonment for demanding the court give him a written decision of his February 6, 2015 conviction) Sanjarbek Saburov (detained on July 17, 2016 for refusing military service; convicted, sentenced on August 9, 2016 to 2 years' imprisonment, sentence suspended) Serdar Hemdemov (aged 19, son of Bahram Hemdemov, sentenced in Turkmenabad on March 16, 2015 to 15 days' imprisonment, sentenced on March 31, 2015 to 15 days' imprisonment for disorderly conduct; sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment in April 2015 for refusing military service)

Shohrat Shirmedov (son of Begjan Shirmedov, tried to defend his father during his September 23, 2012 arrest in Dashoguz) Soyunmurat Korov (conscientious objector, arrested on November 18, 2014, has been transferred to a military hospital due to a medical ailment) Suhrab Rahmanberdiyyev (aged 18, tried, convicted, and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment on November 18, 2013 for refusal of military service, beaten in custody after he refused to declare he was a Muslim; released from Seydi Labor Camp in an October 22, 2014 amnesty) Sunet Japbarov (freed from prison) Svetlana Rahmetulov (wife of Gelman Rahmetulov, home in Ashgabad raided by police without warrant or identification on April 12, 2014, religious literature seized) Tahir Nasyrlayev (arrested during a January 24, 2013 illegal police raid on his Dashoguz home, beaten, found guilty on January 26, 2013 of participation in an illegal religious group and fined two months' wages) Timur Baltayev (sentenced to prison in January 2015 for refusing military service) Umid Gojayev (aged 29 [2012], husband of Malahat Gojayev, father of three, arrested after a scuffle with neighbors in Dashoguz, neighbor asked for charges to be dropped but police refused when they learned he was a Christian, sentenced to four years imprisonment, as of April 2014 has not been amnestied with other prisoners because he reads the Bible; aged 32, freed from prison on February 17, 2015 in an amnesty) Veniamin Genjiyev (aged 18, arrested on July 6, 2018 in Lebap region for violating a court summons he had never received; convicted in Danew on July 17, 2018 for refusing military service, sentenced to one year's imprisonment, decided not to appeal) Vepa Bahromovich Matyakubov (aged 18, brother of Dovran Matyakubov, conscientious objector, forcibly taken to a military conscription office on November 3, 2016, released; sentenced to 2 years' corrective labor in Boldumsaz district on February 14, 2017, will serve his sentence at home, 20% of his salary will be withheld) Vepa Tuvakov (aged 30, husband of Bibi Rahmnova, arrested on July 5, 2014 in Dashoguz along with his wife and 4 year of son after receiving religious literature via train, threatened with death, beaten at the train station and in prison, released on July 7, 2014, charged on July 31, 2014 with hooliganism for resisting police) Viktor Yarygin (pensioner, arrested on February 6, 2015 in Turkmenabad, fined US$29) Vladimir Nuryllayev (sentenced to four years in a labor camp on April 12, 2012 in Ashgabad for "distributing pornography"; freed from prison on May 17, 2012, must report to the police three times a week, is reportedly physically "very weak" but has returned to work) Yadgarbek Sharipov (convicted and sentenced on December 25, 2012 in Dashoguz to one year imprisonment for refusing military service) Pastor Yuri Rozmetov (present when police raided the Dashogu home of Mahud Ovezov during

choir practice on November 21, 2013, taken into custody, told "the Christian religion is wrong", "it is not a religion but a myth", "for centuries the fact that Christ had a wife Mary has been suppressed", and "you should believe correctly and go to the mosque", released) Zafar Abdullaev (sentenced to two years on March 6, 2012 in Dashoguz City for refusing military service; as of October 31, 2012 is still in Seydu Labor Camp, Lebap region; expected release date is March 2014) Zeynep Husaynova (mother of Tohtabay Husaynov, home in Turkmenabad raided by police on February 20, 2015, religious literature seized, sentenced to 15 days' imprisonment, home raided by police on March 14, 2015, 38 worshipers detained, 8 later sentenced to 15 days imprisonment, 30 fined) Zulfiya Ametova (home in Dashoguz raided by organized crime police without warrant on February 21, 2014, elderly parents mistreated, detained along with her mother and forced to sign statements against their will)