Christmas demolition threat for Baptist Church not yet carried out
Keston News Service (27.12.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (07.01.2002) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Pastor Vasili Timoshchuk, pastor of the Tiraspol Baptist Church, told Keston News Service today (27 Dec) that the authorities have not yet carried out their threat to demolish the church by 25 December.
A fortnight ago the church sent an appeal to the government, and has so far received no reply.
(Keston News Service: http://www.keston.org)
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Second Baptist church threatened with demolition
Keston Institute (06.12.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (10.12.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net C Just three weeks before a Baptist church in the town of Tiraspol, the capital of Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester, is scheduled for enforced demolition, Keston News Service has learnt that a second Baptist church affiliated with the Tiraspol church has also been threatened with demolition.
The pastor of the Tiraspol church told Keston on 3 December that the head of the local administration in the village of Krasnoe issued the verbal threat "because the congregation is not registered as a religious organisation".
The two congregations, like all those belonging to the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians/Baptists in any of the former Soviet republics, refuse to register, arguing that registration would lay them open to state meddling.
(Keston Institute: http://www.keston.org)
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ECLJ to take Moldovan religious liberties case
before European Court of Human Rights
www.eclj.org. (14.06.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (18.06.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The European Centre for Law and Justice, the international arm of the American Center for Law and Justice, announced today that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will hear a critical religious liberties case from Moldova in October.
The European Court of Human Rights will hear oral arguments in the case of Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia v. Moldova. The European Centre represents the Bassarabian Metrolpolis before the Court. Oral arguments have been set for 2 October 2001 at the Court in Strasbourg, France.
"This is a very important case involving religious liberties in the former Soviet Republics," said Joel Thornton, Executive Director of the European Centre for Law and Justice. "It is critical that the government understands that religious liberties play a vital role in the development of their country. We are hopeful the European Court of Human Rights will rule in favor of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and uphold their right to self-government."
The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia is an Orthodox Association of more than 100 Orthodox churches in Moldova with a strong Romanian identity. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia has been under the direct jurisdiction and control of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia applied to the government of Moldova to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, and to come under the jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Moldovan government denied the application.
After losing at the Supreme Court of Moldova, the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia filed an Application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg asking the Court to hear the case. Oral arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m. on 2 October 2001. Each side will have 30 minutes to present their argument and another 10 minutes for rebuttal.
The European Centre for Law and Justice is a non-profit association specializing in International Religious Liberties and Human Rights Law and focuses on pro-life, pro-family and pro-liberty cases. The ECLJ currently has three cases on application before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
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