15 May 2025

KAZAKHSTAN: Released prisoner banned from attending mosque

An official banned a released prisoner from attending mosque, threatening punishment for doing so or congratulating fellow Muslims after Friday prayers. The individual is the only one Forum 18 has found specifically banned from visiting places of worship. However, bans on "membership or participation in" religious organisations are common. Officials have not explained whether such bans include attending places of worship. Muslim prisoners of conscience Dadash Mazhenov and Abdukhalil Abduzhabbarov have completed jail terms. After 16 months, Almaty Police closed its criminal investigation into anti-war Orthodox priest Fr Yakov (Vorontsov).

7 May 2025

BELARUS: Police take relatives' DNA after KGB declares religious freedom group "extremist"

On 1 April the KGB ruled that religious freedom group Christian Vision, its website and social media channels are "extremist" and banned. Police raided the homes of three relatives of Dzmitry Korneyenko, one of the members identified by the KGB, taking DNA samples from two. "When [my brother] asked the police why they needed his DNA, they responded that it made it easier for them to hunt for me," Korneyenko said. Orsha District Police refused to say why officers visited Korneyenko's relatives and why they needed DNA samples.

2 May 2025

BELARUS: "They decided to fabricate a case and accuse him of espionage"

On 1 April, the Supreme Court rejected Catholic priest Henryk Okolotovich's appeal against his 11-year jail term on treason charges. Both his trial and appeal were closed. In a message from prison, he denied "espionage for Poland and the Vatican". He rejected pressure to implicate the country's Catholic bishops. "Priests are being persecuted to shut our mouths, so that the Catholic Church does not tell the truth." Even before his arrest, the 65-year-old had suffered a heart attack and had part of his stomach removed due to cancer.

24 April 2025

UKRAINE: How should government deal with conscientious objectors in wartime?

The declaration of martial law after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 cancelled the limited right to alternative service in peacetime. Hundreds of conscientious objectors to mobilisation – on religious and non-religious grounds - have been detained, forced into the army, held illegally (often for months) on military bases, or criminally prosecuted. Requested by Ukraine's Constitutional Court, a Venice Commission brief reaffirmed states' obligation to offer alternative service. If Ukraine is to meet international standards, the government should reinstate legal access to alternative civilian service and review criminal convictions.

22 April 2025

UZBEKISTAN: Further 10 years in prison for Muslim prisoner of conscience

In the third conviction since December 2020, Navoi City Court handed a further 10-year term to Muslim prisoner of conscience Fariduddin Abduvokhidov. The 30-year-old now appears due for release in November 2034. Originally jailed for meeting with others in Tashkent to discuss Islam, Abduvokhidov's latest "crime" was allegedly telling fellow prisoners that the prison authorities "are not Muslims but infidels". The Investigator learned this through "spies in the prison", as well as "recordings of conversations". Another jailed Muslim, Alimardon Sultonov, was put in isolation cell in his new prison.

17 April 2025

RUSSIA: Criminal prosecution to follow fine for anti-war post?

Police prosecuted Apostolic Orthodox Church Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko for allegedly "discrediting" Russia's Armed Forces in a 2022 online video. On 1 April, a St Petersburg court fined him a week's average wages. He quoted in court Jesus' words "blessed are the peacemakers", adding "the Church is obliged to voice precisely this position". A court spokesperson explained his conviction: "He uploaded a video in which it was said that Russia groundlessly invaded Ukraine. What other reasoning do you need?" Archbishop Grigory expects a second "discreditation" accusation and criminal prosecution.

16 April 2025

RUSSIA: Criminal trial of anti-war believer begins, another continues, third awaited

On 14 April, a military court began the trial of Christian preacher Eduard Charov on criminal charges of repeat "discreditation" of the Armed Forces and "public justification of terrorism". He is accused over social media posts criticising Russia's war against Ukraine. The trial of Zen Buddhist leader Ilya Vasilyev – arrested in June 2024 - continues in Moscow over anti-war posts he made "solely out of religious conviction". Protestant pastor Nikolay Romanyuk is under investigation for an anti-war sermon. A court extended pre-trial detention until June, despite his poor health.

15 April 2025

OCCUPIED UKRAINE: Russian FSB raids, court cases, fines, deportation threats

On 2 March, officers of the Russian FSB security service and Luhansk Regional Police's Anti-Extremism Centre raided the Sunday worship meeting of a Baptist congregation in Stakhanov in Russian-occupied Luhansk Region. On 10 April, a court acquitted the church's pastor. This was the latest raid on religious communities in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Officers particularly target religious communities that do not have registration under Russian law. They seize religious literature, photograph those present and hand material to Prosecutor's Offices for religious leaders to be prosecuted.