The Bible study organised by the Word of Life church was raided in the evening of 31 January and some 25 people attending were taken to the police station, where they were interrogated.
Reports say one of the worshippers was beaten by the police.
All were said to have been freed the same evening. There is no information on whether any of them were fined. Most of them reportedly refused to write such statements. This month has seen increased pressure on Protestant communities, including fines on members of the Pentecostal church and the Church of Christ in Ashgabad, a raid and pressure on members of Ashgabad's Greater Grace church, the revocation of the residence permit in the Caspian port city of Turkmenbashi and expulsion of a leading pastor of a Baptist church and the detention of a Protestant Christian in the capital by police searching for three Protestant leaders currently in hiding. I found this article interesting, and thought you'd appreciate seeing it as well.