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
14 March 2023
CRIMEA: Now 12 jailed Crimean prisoners of conscience
Aleksandr Litvinyuk is not due to complete his jail term and post-prison restrictions until the mid-2030s, by which time he would be over 75. Armyansk Prosecutor's Office refused to put Forum 18 through to Prosecutor Minigul Saddykova, who led the prosecution case in court. Litvinyuk is among 12 Jehovah's Witnesses from Russian-occupied Crimea now jailed for at least six years to punish their exercise of freedom of religion or belief. Two more are serving suspended sentences including Darya Kuzio, wife of one of the prisoners.
8 March 2023
BELARUS: Rent hikes, suspicious fire, enforced church closure, expulsion anniversary
The regime terminated unlimited, free of charge rental agreements with at least four Catholic churches still in state hands. It claimed that, in exchange for signing a new agreement to pay rent, the churches will eventually be allowed to resume using their historical buildings rent-free. "We were told that if we don't sign the new agreement, the church will be given to the museum .. while we'll be allowed to worship there only once a week," said a Catholic close to Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh.
7 March 2023
RUSSIA: Tomsk musician's criminal trial to begin 15 March
The criminal trial of Tomsk musician Anna Chagina on charges of repeatedly "discrediting" the Armed Forces is due to begin on 15 March. She is being tried for social media posts opposing Russia's war in Ukraine, based on her Christian beliefs, having already received a fine in 2022 for her poster at an anti-war protest which read "Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)". Tomsk Region Investigative Committee refused to discuss the case. The criminal trial of St Petersburg Orthodox priest Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov is due to resume on 10 April.
27 February 2023
UKRAINE: Conscientious objector now jailed
Ivano-Frankivsk Police took 46-year-old Christian conscientious objector Vitaly Alekseenko into custody on 23 February to begin serving his one-year jail term for refusing the call-up to the military at a time of war. His requests to perform an alternative civilian service were ignored and he has appealed to the Supreme Court. The Defence Ministry insists that alternative service does not exist during wartime. He is the first conscientious objector jailed since Russia's renewed 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Courts have given at least six others suspended prison terms.
22 February 2023
TAJIKISTAN: Ailing prisoner of conscience's hospital transfer refused again
The governor of Strict Regime Prison YaS 3/5 in Khujand refuses to explain why Jehovah's Witness prisoner of conscience Shamil Khakimov – aged 72 and in urgent need of specialised medical care – cannot be transferred to hospital. On 15 February in his absence, Sugd Regional Court rejected Khakimov's latest appeal. Among the 6 other known prisoners of conscience jailed for exercising freedom of religion and belief, Ismaili leader Muzaffar Davlatmirov from Mountainous Badakhshan was in August 2022 transferred to General Regime Prison YaS 3/6 in Yavan. Jailed Islamic Renaissance Party member, Zubaydullo Rozik, was again sent to punishment cell for having a Koran.
21 February 2023
TAJIKISTAN: Regime bans Ismaili home prayers, lessons for children
At least two Ismaili home owners in Mountainous Badakhshan were fined one month's average wage each for hosting prayer meetings in their homes. The regime banned such meetings in late 2022. Officials told elders on 14 January in Khorugh not to allow prayers in homes, that local people must remove portraits of Ismaili spiritual leader the Aga Khan, and that study at the London-based Institute of Ismaili Studies is no longer allowed. The regime also banned voluntary lessons for children based on a course from the Aga Khan Foundation.
15 February 2023
UKRAINE: Conscientious objector told "to be ready to be taken to prison"
Ivano-Frankivsk police told Christian conscientious objector Vitaly Alekseenko "to be ready to be taken to prison" on 20 February. He lost his appeal against his one-year jail term on 16 January. "The court gave me the decision to take him to prison. It's my job to carry this out," the police officer told Forum 18. His would be the first wartime conscientious objector jailing. "Unfortunately, the right to alternative service does not extend to martial law," said Viktor Yelensky of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience.
10 February 2023
RUSSIA: Fled fearing prosecution for preaching that war is "terrible"
Moscow Patriarchate priest Aleksandr Dombrovsky fled Russia in January, shortly after police told him the FSB had opened a criminal case against him. He had repeatedly preached against the war in Ukraine. "Everything related to my anti-war position was recorded in a most thorough manner," he told Forum 18. The criminal trial of Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov is due to resume in St Petersburg on 13 February. Fr Gleb Krivoshein became the first known person punished for signing an Orthodox open letter against the war.
3 February 2023
OCCUPIED UKRAINE: "Disappeared" clergy, seized places of worship, library purge
Russian occupation authorities continue to violate freedom of religion and belief in the Ukrainian territory they currently control. In late 2022 two Greek Catholic priests and a Protestant pastor were the latest known religious leaders seized by occupation authorities. The pastor was freed in January, but it is unknown where the priests are or even if they are still alive. [UPDATE: Russian military seized Orthodox priest Platon Danyshchuk on 26 January.] Raids on and seizures of places of worship continued in January, and a purge of "extremist" books from educational libraries was ordered in Luhansk.
2 February 2023
UKRAINE: Draft law better than others, freedom of religion or belief concerns remain
The Ukrainian government has produced a draft law prohibiting the operation of religious organisations affiliated with "centres of influence of religious organisations or associations with ruling centres" in Russia, but imposing an obligation on the state to prove any affiliation in court. The draft law in its present form raises freedom of religion or belief concerns. If adopted and implemented it may significantly change the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is historically and ecclesiastically linked to the Moscow Patriarchate.
26 January 2023
BELARUS: Religious freedom survey, January 2023
Forum 18's freedom of religion and belief survey analysis of Belarus notes continuing violations of this freedom and of interlinked freedoms. These include a web of "legal" restrictions on which communities can meet, where, who they are led by, and what literature they may use. These restrictions make the exercise of freedom of religion and belief dependent on state permission. Violations have worsened since fraudulent presidential elections in August 2020, and the regime's support for Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
24 January 2023
RUSSIA: Two trials, nine long jail terms
Eight of nine Jehovah's Witnesses convicted on "extremism"-related charges in two trials in Russia's Far East in December 2022 received jail terms of 6 to 7 years. An Amur Region Prosecutor's Office official justified the jailings: "Any missionary activity of members of a religious organisation liquidated by a court in connection with repeated violations of the law on countering extremist activity will be illegal in nature and subject to liability established by law." The 9 were among 124 Jehovah's Witnesses criminally convicted in 2022. Trials continue.