Tohar Haydarov is serving a 10-year prison sentence because of his faith.
Tohar Haydarov (27), has been imprisoned since his arrest in March 2010. He is currently
serving a 10-year prison sentence for the “illegal sale of narcotic...substances in large
quantities.”
Local Christians are outraged and maintain that the authorities fabricated the evidence and
he is simply being punished because of his Christian faith. They insist that police planted drugs
on Tohar at the time of his arrest. According to church members, Tohar is “a man with pure
conscience and an honest Christian.”
At a court date three days after his arrest, Tohar told believers that police had beaten him and
forced him to sign papers. His face was swollen and he could barely walk. When he refused to
renounce his faith, police allegedly planted drugs on him. Other Christians were not permitted
to testify on Tohar’s behalf and the lawyer they hired for him was not allowed into the courtroom.
Prison authorities recently showed Tohar some of the many letters sent to him but he is not
allowed to read them because “there are too many citations from the Bible.”
How You Can Help
1. PRAY for Tohar and other Christians who are imprisoned for their faith.
That God will comfort and encourage Tohar, enabling him to stand firm.
That God will protect Tohar and give him opportunities to share his faith in Christ.
That the charges against Tohar will be dropped and that he will be released.
Use this PowerPoint to share Tohar’s story and pray for him at church, youth group or school.
2. WRITE a special note of encouragement to your persecuted brother.
Your prayers are vital and your letters of encouragement speak loudly to the authorities in
Uzbekistan that Tohar Haydarov is not alone and will not be forgotten!
Print this advocacy profile and get your youth group to write to encourage Tohar Haydarov.
Youth Group Resources