Pastor Salavat Serikbayev, the pastor of an officially registered Pentecostal church in Muynak city in the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, was arrested on April 18. He faces charges of "incitement to religious hatred," "running an illegal religious organization" and "distributing materials promoting religious extremism." His trial date is scheduled for May 2.

Pastor Serikbayev was previously arrested in Karakalpakstan on February 22, 2006 for his religious activities (click here for more details) but was allowed to temporarily return home to his family.

The charges against Pastor Serikbayev are the same as those brought against Pastor Dmitry Shestakov (click here to read more). Pastor Shestakov has appealed his labour camp sentence. The hearing into his appeal was on May 1.