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
13 March 2003
RUSSIA: Moscow Baptists barred from renting public buildings
A 300-strong unregistered Baptist community is searching for a new place to worship after being informed that they can no longer rent premises at a public library near Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery where they have met after opening hours for the past six years. In January, the library's administration unexpectedly informed the Baptists that they could no longer use the premises and returned an advance rental payment. Pastor Aleksei Kalyashin told Forum 18 News Service that "pressure from above" was the only explanation given for the termination of the congregation's verbal rental agreement, about which the library's administrator would not elaborate. A city official has confirmed to Forum 18 that only legal entities can rent public facilities for religious services.
12 March 2003
UZBEKISTAN: No hope of registration for minority faiths?
"We have now lost all hope of registering our church. The authorities deliberately keep coming up with new excuses to refuse us registration," Khym-Mun Kim – a leader of the Peace Presbyterian church in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan in north west Uzbekistan - told Forum 18 News Service. "The authorities say we have no right to hold meetings without registration. And in fact the police could descend on any of our services." Kim believes that the Karakalpakstan authorities are deliberately creating "intolerable" conditions for religious minorities. Only one non-Muslim religious community has managed to gain registration in the autonomous republic.
Latest Analyses
Latest News
- Kyrgyzstan
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Armenia
- Kazakhstan
- Belarus
- Occupied Ukraine
- Uzbekistan
- Azerbaijan
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Crimea
