Prisoner of faith: Tohar Haydarov

Tohar Haydarov

He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the “illegal sale of narcotic or psychotropic substances in large quantities.” It is a charge he and his church members strongly deny.

Those close to 27-year-old Tohar Haydarov believe he is being targeted because of his religious activities. “[He is] a man with a pure conscience and an honest Christian,” they insist.

Tohar has been imprisoned in Uzbekistan since March 2010. A judge recently confirmed his sentence, stating that "the punishment was given in proportion to the act, taking into account the public danger of the act."

Prison authorities recently showed Tohar some of the many letters sent to him. However, he is not allowed to read them because "there are too many citations from the Bible in them."

Please continue to send encouraging letters to Tohar!

When writing, never mention the name of the source of your information or the name of any organization such as VOM or Prisoner Alert. It is not dangerous for a prisoner to receive letters from individuals, but if an organization is mentioned they may be accused of links with “foreign organizations” and receive harsher sentences. Also, please do not state anything negative about their government.

To compose a letter in Tohar’s language, please visit www.PrisonerAlert.com. To learn more about letter writing, click here.

Please mail your letters to:

Tohar Haydarov
UYa 64/49
Otryad 13
Pos. Shaikh-Ali
G. Karshi, Kashkadarya Region
180020 Uzbekistan