Story number 3 for 8 Mar 2000

Keston News Service reports that the Turkmen government has recently issued a directive closing down the United Bible Society and other religious groups. The persecution has been mounting recently with raids and arrests on Christians in the area. Just last month, officials confiscated materials and interrogated members of another house church, threatening them with arrest and criminal charges. The church meeting reportedly violated a law governing religious associations in the largely Muslim Eurasian nation, officials said.