KYRGYZSTAN: Did torture cause jailed Reform Adventist pastor’s brain damage?
by Mushfig Bayram
Forum 18 (14.10.2025) – 65-year-old True and Free Reform Adventist Pastor Pavel Shreider – serving a 3-year jail term – is in a prison medical unit after relatives raised concerns about brain damage apparently caused by torture. He has been “diagnosed with traumatic brain injury” resulting in “cognitive impairment”, Major Azat Kudaybergenov, Chief of Prison No. 21 where he was held for 10 months, wrote to the family. Five United Nations Special Rapporteurs asked the regime about “arrests, detentions and alleged torture” of church members, Pastor Shreider’s criminal prosecution, and banning of the Church as “extremist”.
The prison authorities transferred 65-year-old jailed True and Free Reform Adventist Pastor Pavel Shreider to the medical unit of Prison No. 31 near Bishkek on 25 September after the family raised concerns about his health. “As also seen from the official medical examination paper, he has developed encephalopathy, which is brain damage, and which has affected his general health,” his family complained. The transfer has delayed hearings of his appeal at Bishkek City Court against his 3-year jail term.
The prison authorities had held Pastor Shreider at Prison No. 21 in Bishkek for 10 months following his November 2024 arrest. “He has been examined multiple times by doctors at Institution No. 21, and diagnosed with traumatic brain injury” which has resulted in “cognitive impairment”, Major Azat Kudaybergenov, Chief of Prison No. 21, wrote to the family on 22 September 2025 in a letter seen by Forum 18.
“Several factors” may have contributed to Pastor Shreider’s condition, his family told Forum 18. “Firstly, he is of an older age. The prison regime is not conducive for his body movement or exercise and his blood circulation is bad. Secondly, he probably has stress every day because of his arrest. And lastly and maybe most importantly, he was beaten by the police officers when he was arrested and given blows to his head”.
No one has ever been prosecuted for the torture of Pastor Shreider or three other church members detained at the same time in November 2024. Officials who participated in the arrest and investigation of Pastor Shreider earlier denied to Forum 18 that they had tortured the church members.
On 23 July, five United Nations Special Rapporteurs – including Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief – wrote to the regime with their concerns about the “arrests, detentions and alleged torture” of members of the True and Free Reform Adventist Church, as well as the subsequent criminal prosecution of Pastor Shreider. They also noted the 19 March 2025 court ruling banning the Church as “extremist”.
“Serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment have been made with regard to Mr. Schreider and the other male members of the congregation during their detention,” the Special Rapporteurs told the regime. “It is reported that the male and female members of the group witnessed [NSC secret police] officers striking the heads and bodies of the seven male members of the group, including Mr. Schreider, Mr. [Yuri] Pauls, Mr. Igor Tsoi, Mr. Peter Petkau, all of whom reported ill-treatment in detention. It is reported that Mr. Schreider and Mr. Tsoi were additionally subjected to strangulation with cellophane bags and the use of tasers”.
The Special Rapporteurs asked the regime for comments on their actions against the True and Free Adventists and about Pastor Shreider’s current state of health. They also asked how Pastor Shreider’s prosecution and the court-imposed ban on the Church are “compatible with the international human rights obligations”. They also asked what measures had been taken to “investigate the credible accusations” of torture against the four Church members.
The regime responded with a brief reply in Russian on 20 September, according to the UN Special Procedures communication website.
National Agency for Religious Affairs and Interethnic Relations Deputy Director Kanatbek Midin uuly did not answer his phone each time Forum 18 called. He did not respond to written questions about the regime’s moves against the True and Free Reform Adventists.
The regime has jailed others for exercising freedom of religion or belief. The 37-year-old Muslim prisoner of conscience Asadullo Madraimov has been jailed since October 2023 for criticising the authorities for closing Kara-Suu District’s Al-Sarakhsi Mosque. He is now due for release in February 2026. Another member of the community, Mamirzhan Tashmatov, was freed from prison in May 2024. In July 2023, a court jailed Protestant Aytbek Tynaliyev for 6 months for allegedly “inciting religious enmity” for social media posts sharing his faith.
Photo : Pastor Pavel Shreider and his wife Nelya, 11 November 2024 Copyrights Vera Shreider
