FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
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9 February 2009
ARMENIA: TWO YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR ORGANISING SHARING OF FAITH?
id=1251
If two draft Laws which began passage through Armenia’s Parliament on 5
February are adopted, spreading one’s faith would be banned, Forum 18 News
Service has learnt. Those who organise campaigns to spread their faith
would face up to two years’ imprisonment, while those who engage in
spreading their faith would face up to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of
more than eight years’ minimum wages. Gaining legal status would require
1,000 adult members, while Christian communities which do not accept the
doctrine of the Trinity would be barred from registering. "These proposed
Laws contain violations of all human rights." Russian Orthodox priest Fr
David Abrahamyan told Forum 18. Religious affairs official Vardan
Astsatryan told Forum 18 the government backs the draft Laws "in general".
He declined to explain why the government has not involved the OSCE in
preparation of the draft Laws.
12 February 2009
AZERBAIJAN: PASTOR CONVICTED NOT JAILED, INSISTS CHARGES FABRICATED
cle_id=1254
Baptist Pastor Hamid Shabanov has been convicted of possessing an illegal
weapon, but insists that he is innocent. "I will continue to fight against
this sentence and to clear my name," he told Forum 18 News Service. Unless
Shabanov’s conviction is quashed, he will have a criminal record. The head
of Azerbaijan’s Baptist Union Ilya Zenchenko told Forum 18 though that "the
main thing is that Hamid won’t have to go to prison." Both the prosecutor
and police have refused to talk to Forum 18 about the case and conviction.
Concern is being expressed about the arrest of one of Shabanov’s relatives,
Teyyub Eyvazov, who police claim possessed drugs. Some Baptists think that
this is the latest attempt by the authorities to pressure them, although
Eyvazov is not a Christian. Meanwhile, yet another raid has been made on a
Jehovah’s Witness meeting. "It is ironic that at the previous police raid
in Gyanja the police said we did not have registration and therefore our
meeting was unlawful," Jehovah’s Witnesses told Forum 18. "But why, then,
do they also raid meetings in Baku, where we do have registration?"
11 February 2009
BELARUS: DANES DEPORTED FOR PRAYING IN CHURCH
id=1253
Two Danish visitors to Belarus were detained by police and are being
deported as they expressed "ideas of a religious nature", in the words of
the deportation order, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. "We were praying,
reading and speaking from the Bible, greeting the people, and praying
together," one of the two, Erling Laursen, told Forum 18. Neither were
leading the worship service they attended. Police took video footage of the
two praying in Gomel’s charismatic Living Faith Church, but refused to say
who had recorded it "to protect our colleague". The Church’s pastor Dmitry
Podlobko told Forum 18 that a young man he had never seen before filmed a
worship service with his mobile phone. Pastor Podlobko said that "it’s not
news to us that the security organs are watching. They visit and watch us
secretly." The KGB secret police closely monitors all religious
communities. The deportation of the two Danes – who are banned from Belarus
for one year – brings to 31 the number of foreign citizens barred from
Belarus in recent years for their religious activity. The most recent
people expelled were four Catholic priests and three nuns, banned at the
end of 2008.
12 February 2009
KAZAKHSTAN: "THE CURRENT RELIGION LAW IS ALSO UNCONSTITUTIONAL"
ive.php?article_id=1255
Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council has announced that a restrictive draft
Law severely restricting freedom of religion or belief is unconstitutional.
President Nursultan Nazarbaev has up to one month to respond. Yevgeni
Zhovtis, head of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and
Rule of Law, told Forum 18 News Service that the Constitutional Council’s
judgement also implies that the current Religion Law is unconstitutional.
The Constitutional Council referred to a part of the Constitution barring
limitations on freedom of religion or belief, so "anyone charged with
breaking the current Religion Law’s limitations on religious freedom can
cite the Constitutional Council’s decision in court," Zhovtis said. "The
court can then be asked to refer the current Religion Law to the
Constitutional Council, for them to directly rule on the current Religion
Law’s constitutionality." A judge who tried a case involving unregistered
Baptists has already welcomed the possibility of such a review. "It is also
very important," Zhovtis told Forum 18, "that as well as looking at the
draft Law, people also pay attention to the continuing violations by
officials of everyone’s freedom of religion or belief."
* See full article below. *
10 February 2009
UZBEKISTAN: UNREGISTERED HARE KRISHNA DEVOTEES AND PROTESTANTS RAIDED
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Uzbekistan is continuing to raid members of religious minorities who the
authorities think are conducting unregistered religious activity, Forum 18
News Service has found. A Hare Krishna festival in Samarkand, and a
birthday party for a Protestant in the north-western Karakalpakstan region
have both been raided, Uzbek police confirmed to Forum 18. The people who
police found during the raids may be prosecuted for religious activity
without state permission. This is a criminal offence, in violation of
Uzbekistan’s international human rights commitments. Describing one raid, a
Protestant told Forum 18 that police "secretly planted" two religious
books, the names of which they could not identify. The officers then
"seized" the books. Police confirmed that NSS secret police officers took
part in this raid. Police Captain Zhasur Kamalov told Forum 18 that the
raid took place to see whether church activity was being conducted. Also,
it remains unclear whether imams arrested in the second half of 2008 have
been tried for the offences officials accused them of.
12 February 2009
KAZAKHSTAN: "THE CURRENT RELIGION LAW IS ALSO UNCONSTITUTIONAL"
hive.php?article_id=1255
By Mushfig Bayram, Central Asia Correspondent, Forum 18 News Service
<;, and
John Kinahan, Forum 18 News Service <;
Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council announced on 11 February that the
restrictive "Law on Amendments and Additions to Several Legislative Acts on
Questions of Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" is
unconstitutional. Gulnara Baygeldy, the Council’s press officer, told Forum
18 News Service from the capital Astana on 12 February that "now the
President [Nursultan Nazarbaev] should decide to agree or disagree with us
within 10 days." She declined to make further comments, or make the text of
the Constitutional Council’s judgment public. "Only after the President
makes his decision can we make further comments," she told Forum 18.
The Chair of the Constitutional Council, Igor Rogov, made the announcement
at a meeting in Astana widely shown on television and reported in the local
media. He said that the proposed Law is not in accord with the Constitution
and so "cannot be signed and brought into force".
President Nazarbaev has up to one month to respond to the decision. He can
propose changes to the decision, but these must be supported by two-thirds
of the Constitutional Council’s members to take effect.
Rogov said the Constitutional Council particularly cited Article 39
paragraph 3 of the Constitution in support of its judgment that the draft
Law is unconstitutional. This paragraph states that the "rights and
freedoms stipulated by" various specific articles of the Constitution
"shall not be restricted in any way". Among the articles listed is Article
14.2 stating "no one shall be subject to any discrimination for reasons of
origin, social, property status, occupation, sex, race, nationality,
language, attitude towards religion, convictions, place of residence or any
other circumstances." Also listed is Article 19.1, which states that
"everyone shall have the right to determine and indicate or not to indicate
his national, party and religious affiliation."
Constitutional Council Chair Rogov said the draft Law violated the
equality of all before the Law by giving different registration conditions
for faiths "previously unknown in Kazakhstan". He added that the draft Law
would also have infringed the rights of non-citizens by not specifically
including legal residents who are not citizens as having equal rights.
Human rights defenders, religious communities, Kazakh and international
human rights experts – including the OSCE/ODIHR Advisory Council on Freedom
of Religion or Belief – are strongly critical of the draft Law’s many
restrictions on fundamental human rights (see F18News 4 February 2009
< e_id=1249>).
Yevgeni Zhovtis, head of the Almaty-based Kazakhstan International Bureau
for Human Rights and Rule of Law, told Forum 18 on 12 February that the
Constitutional Council’s judgement on the draft law also implies that the
current Religion Law is unconstitutional.
He told Forum 18 that, as the Constitutional Council has indicated by its
use of Article 39 paragraph 3 that the current Religion Law is also
unconstitutional, the Kazakh Parliament should in principle scrap all its
limitations on freedom of religion or belief. An example of the
limitations, Zhovtis said, is the current Law’s ban on the unregistered
dissemination of religious views.
"Anyone charged with breaking the current Religion Law’s limitations on
religious freedom can cite the Constitutional Council’s decision in court,"
Zhovtis said. "The court can then be asked to refer the current Religion
Law to the Constitutional Council, for them to directly rule on the current
Religion Law’s constitutionality."
Human rights defender Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee,
agrees that the current Religion Law needs to be examined. "The
Constitutional Court decision was only about the proposed Law and has no
retroactive effect," she told Forum 18 on 12 February. "But of course it
does have an impact on the current Law." However, she pointed to the
difficulty of finding 20 parliamentary deputies, or a judge, or a senior
government member, who would be likely to refer the current Law to the
Constitutional Council for a review.
"It is also very important," Zhovtis told Forum 18, "that as well as
looking at the draft Law, people also pay attention to the continuing
violations by officials of everyone’s freedom of religion or belief."
Human rights defender Fokina told Forum 18 that these violations include
officials repeatedly encouraging intolerance of religious minorities and
freedom of thought, conscience and belief (see F18News 5 February 2009
< e_id=1250>). Officials often
ignore Kazakh law in carrying out human rights violations, for example
banning a Hare Krishna devotee from the country after a trial which
apparently never took place (see F18News 30 January 2009
< e_id=1247>).
Facing particular harassment are members of the Council of Churches
Baptists, who refuse on principle to register any of their congregations
with the state. In Akmola Region, which surrounds Astana, Judge Larisa
Seksenbaeva on 4 February fined the pastor of one of their congregations
and banned the church. The judge imposed the punishment for unregistered
religious activity under the Administrative Code’s Article 375 paragraph 5.
Council of Churches Baptists told Forum 18 that it is the first time a
court in Kazakhstan has banned one of their churches permanently.
Previously such bans were imposed for up to six months.
Pastor Nikolai Levin, who leads the church in Balkashino, was fined 12,500
Tenge (580 Norwegian Kroner, 65 Euros, or 85 US Dollars). Judge Seksenbaeva
defended her decision. "We warned Levin about his unauthorised activity
many times and fined him," she told Forum 18 on 12 February. She said Levin
"unsuccessfully" appealed in the Akmola Regional Court against the previous
court decisions to fine him. "Each time the Regional Court upheld the
fines." Levin has again appealed against the fine to the Regional Court,
she added.
Seksenbaeva insisted that the current Religion Law requires religious
organisations to officially register. Told that Levin’s congregation do not
want to register to freely practice their religion, Seksenbaeva said she
"understands" the situation but "cannot" help.
Law professor Roman Podoprigora, of the Caspian Public University in
Almaty, has noted that Kazakh law contradicts itself on whether or not the
registration of religious organisations is compulsory (see F18News 4 August
2005 < 625>).
Judge Seksenbaeva, told by Forum 18 that the Constitutional Council’s
decision implicitly questioned the constitutionality of the current
Religion Law, welcomed the possibility of asking for a Constitutional
Council review of the current Law. "This is good news," she said. "Levin
should include this in his complaint." She commented that such a review
"would help the Panel [of judges in the Regional Court] to correctly and
clearly interpret the norms of the Religion Law."
Zhanna Zhabagina, acting head of Sandyktau Justice Department, told Forum
18 from Balkashino on 3 February that they had talked to Levin several
times in the past, explaining to him that registration "would help the
church to function without much trouble". Asked whether Kazakhstan’s Law
requires communities to be registered to practice their religion, she
responded: "I cannot positively answer that question." Zhabagina said that
the Constitution gives freedom to people to freely exercise their religion,
but the current Religion Law requires religious organisations to be
registered.
Zhabagina said she understands that the Baptists do not want to register,
but "our duty is to explain to people that it is easier to function once
registered, and I don’t really know what to say in this situation." She
added that it is the court which decides these matters.
The fine on Pastor Levin followed a 25 January raid on the Balkashino
Baptist church by Sandyktau district authorities (see F18News 3 February
2009 < 1248>). The National
Security Committee (KNB) secret police took part in this raid. A KNB
officer showed Levin his identity card, but "because I did not have my
glasses with me I could not see his name, and do not remember it," Levin
told Forum 18. Officials asked questions about state registration, who the
leader of the church was, how many people attended the services and when
they were held. As he left the KNB officer told him "now we will meet
often," Levin stated.
Another court case against Baptists for unregistered religious activity is
continuing in Bulaevo in North Kazakhstan Region, Baptists told Forum 18.
On 27 January the case against Galina and Tatyana Kiryushkina – two sisters
aged respectively 68 and 76 – was returned by a court to Bulaevo Police for
further investigation.
In the southern town of Kentau, Jehovah’s Witness may be making progress
in resolving their property problems (see F18News 19 December 2008
< e_id=1233>). On 21 January Kentau
City Court closed the case brought for use of a property for worship, and
on 26 January the Akim (head of the local authority) cancelled a decision
made in June 2008 alleging violation of planning rules by using a house for
religious purposes. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses told Forum 18 on 11
February that "we are waiting for the City Architecture Department to
authorise the use of the house." (END)
For a personal commentary on how attacking religious freedom damages
national security in Kazakhstan, see F18News
< icle_id=564>.
For more background, see Forum 18’s Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at
< id=701>.
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Kazakhstan
can be found at
< mp;religion=all&country=29>.
A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at
< id=806> and a survey of
religious intolerance in Central Asia is at
< id=815>.
A printer-friendly map of Kazakhstan is available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kazakh& gt;.
(END)
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