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Baptists threatened as new harsh law used to bite
By Igor Rotar
Forum 18 News Service (09.12.2003)/ HRWF Int. (09.12.2003) C Website: http://www.hrwf.net/ - Email: info@hrwf.net - In the first known instance of the use against believers of Turkmenistan's harsh new religion law that came into force in November, police who raided a Baptist Sunday service on 30 November warned church members that they would face severe punishments if they continue to worship without state registration. The raid on the church in Balkanabad (formerly Nebitdag) in the west of the country was led by Major Aman Annayev, the head of the town's sixth police department (responsible for combating organised crime and terrorism). Reached by telephone at his office in Balkanabad on 8 December, Major Annayev categorically refused to discuss the raid with Forum 18 News Service.
In the wake of the raid, police took all those present at the service, including children, to the police station, the Baptists reported. They were accused of breaking the new religion law and warned that they would be fined 10 times the minimum wage under the code of dministrative offences for the first two cases of breaking the law in the course of a year. However, subsequently they would face charges under the criminal code.
One of the Baptist women was threatened that her four children would be taken from her and placed in a children's home. The authorities have already handed down steadily-increasing fines on the Balkanabad Baptists this year for continuing to hold unregistered prayer meetings (see F18News 14 October 2003
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=163 ).
The Balkanabad Baptists belong to the Council of Churches (or unregistered Baptists). The Council of Churches split from other Baptists in 1961, when state-sponsored controls were introduced by the then Baptist leadership. It has refused state registration ever since.
The new religion law, which came into force on 10 November, outlaws all unregistered religious activity, while a criminal code amendment penalties for breaking the law of up to a year of "corrective labour". Turkmenistan thus joined Uzbekistan and Belarus in defying the international human rights agreements they have signed, by banning unregistered religious activity (see F18 News 11 November 2003
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=180 ).
As the authorities allow only Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox communities to register, this is a considerable further move in repressing minority faiths. Even before the new law came into force, Forum 18 knows of religious believers having been fined, detained, beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs, had their homes confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or deported for unregistered religious activity.
Forum 18 has tried to establish to what extent the situation of the Balkanabad Baptists has deteriorated since the new law on religion was introduced. However, these efforts proved fruitless. As Major Annayev refused to discuss the raid, Forum 18 tried to clarify the situation at the government's Gengeshi (Committee) for Religious Affairs in the capital Ashgabad. However, this proved even less successful. Hardly had Forum 18 explained who was calling than officials immediately put the phone down. The human rights officer at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe office in Ashgabad, Marie-Jose van Rie, said it was too early to say that the situation of religious minorities had worsened since the adoption of the new law. "The fact is the police raids on unregistered communities were happening before the new law was adopted," she told Forum 18 on 8 December. "But I think that in future, under the new law, the situation of religious minorities will become even worse."
Source: http://www.forum18.org/
Turkmenistan enacts highly repressive law against religion
Helsinki Commission members urge Powell to act
CSCE (02.12.2003) /HRWF Int. (04.12.2003) C Website: http://www.hrwf.net/ - Email: info@hrwf.net- Members of the United States Helsinki Commission expressed their disappointment with a law against religions recently enacted in the former Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan. The Commissioners renewed their call for Secretary of State Colin Powell to designate Turkmenistan as a "Country of Particular Concern," in the face of growing repression against those who seek to profess and practice their faith.
The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 established the designation of "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPC) for countries with a well-documented record of "particularly severe violations of religious freedom." Designations can be made at any time by the Secretary of State.
"I am gravely concerned by the new downturn for this most recent strike against religious freedom in Turkmenistan," declared United States Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ). "This new law demonstrates Niyazov's fear of people freely exercising their religious beliefs and strengthens the case for designating Turkmenistan as a Country of Particular Concern. I urge Secretary of State Colin Powell to consider this alarming development."
"Niyazov's regime continues to amaze me with increasingly draconian laws aimed at further crushing human rights," said Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO). "Turkmenistan's brazen violations of the rights of believers warrant designation as a Country of Particular Concern."
"Unregistered groups brave enough to meet have repeatedly faced home raids, imprisonment, deportation, internal exile, house eviction and even torture," said Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD). "The law contains a chapter entitled 'Controlling and Monitoring the Activities of Religious Organizations.' This flies in the face of OSCE commitments on religious freedom and makes a horrible situation even worse."
President Saparmurat Niyazov, the one-time Communist boss of the former Soviet Turkmen Republic, has declared himself president for life and has named himself "Turkmenbashi," the leader of all Turkmen. The new anti-religion law bans any activity by unregistered religious groups. While many religious communities exist in Turkmenistan, only the Russian Orthodox Church and the Sunni branch of Islam are registered, and both are strictly controlled by the Niyazov regime.
To obtain permission to operate legally, a group must demonstrate, among other things, that it has 500 members. Yet the registration requirements are too burdensome for small religious communities to fulfill, placing them in real jeopardy. There is concern that this high threshold will be applied in each locality where a group wishes to operate, making registration virtually impossible to obtain. Also alarming is the new, corresponding criminal code amendment, which stipulates that individuals caught more than once a year acting on behalf of an unregistered religious community can be fined between ten and thirty months of wages, be sent to hard labor for two years or imprisoned for one year. The previous law only levied administrative fines for similar "offenses." Reports continually arise of religious communities suffering under Niyazov's iron grip, including the following:
In November, the State Security Ministry (formerly the KGB) closed down a mosque for not placing Niyazov's religious book, the Ruhnama, on the same stand as a Koran during Friday prayers.
In October, police banned Baptists from meeting in Balkanabad and doubled their fines.
In June, authorities temporarily detained and heavily fined leaders of a Baptist church ministering to the deaf for meeting "illegally" in Turkmenabad.
Five members of a non-denominational Protestant church in the town of Abadan were fined after a police raid.
In May, authorities raided and closed a meeting of Hare Krishnas in Ashgabad, and law enforcement officers broke up a Baptist Sunday morning service in Turkmenbashi.
On October 20, eight Members of the United States Helsinki Commission and 26 other Members of Congress wrote a letter to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, urging him to designate Turkmenistan--along with Saudi Arabia and Vietnam--as a Country of Particular Concern for its appalling record on religious freedom. Countries currently designated as CPCs are Burma, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Sudan.
Continuing concern at criminalisation of religious belief and practice
By Felix Corley
Forum 18 News Service (04.12.2003)/ HRWF Int. (04.12.2003) C Website: http://www.hrwf.net/ - Email: info@hrwf.net - Officials still do not know how fiercely to implement Turkmenistan's highly restrictive new religion law, which for the first time formally criminalises unregistered religious activity, sources have told Forum 18 News Service. "Officials are still waiting for instructions from on high as to how it should be implemented," one member of a minority faith that has not been able to gain official registration told Forum 18. "But there is strong pressure in the air." The source declared that no criminal cases are known to have been launched against leaders or members of unregistered communities of that particular religious group.
The new law, which was signed by President Saparmurat Niyazov on 21 October and which came into force on its publication on 10 November (see F18News 11 November 2003 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=180 ), has been widely criticised by religious communities, human rights groups and foreign governments.
Turkmenistan already had the tightest controls on religious activity before the new law criminalising unregistered religious activity came into force (see F18News October 2003 religious freedom survey http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=151 ). All Shia Muslim, Baptist, Pentecostal, Adventist, Armenian Apostolic, Lutheran, Hare Krishna, Jehovah's Witness, Baha'i and Jewish activity was already treated as illegal. Believers have been fined, detained, beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs, had their homes confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or deported in retaliation for involvement in unregistered religious activity.
The Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians/Baptists, a group that opposes registration on principle in all the post-Soviet republics where it operates, issued a statement in Moscow on 14 November criticising the new law and the new articles of the Criminal Code that spell out punishments for leading or taking part in unregistered religious activity. Many Baptist congregations have already faced raids, threats and fines for their religious activity which have been stepped up this year.
Pointing out that Turkmenistan is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Baptists declare that they will press for the law to be "brought into conformity with international norms of human rights". Citing the Acts of the Apostles, they recall that the Christians of the first century prayed to God to "look on the threats [of the authorities] and grant your servants to speak your word with boldness".
In the wake of the adoption of the new law, Baptist congregations across the country held a three-day session of prayer and fasting. One Baptist source told Forum 18 that there have so far been no reports of heightened repression against Baptist congregations. "The rulers of Turkmenistan are not in charge," the Baptist declared defiantly. "God is still in his place."
Also criticising the new religion law as an "expression of the hardening attitude of the Niyazov regime in restricting religious freedom and human rights" was the Turkmenistan Helsinki Committee, a group based in Bulgaria made up of activists who have been forced to flee their homeland. "There is no doubt that the new law is designed to hinder, not to promote freedom of religious confession." It said the new law restricts religious rights even further, violating Turkmenistan's international human rights commitments.
International criticism of Turkmenistan's violations of human rights is mounting. On 24 November the United Nations General Assembly's human rights committee approved a European Union-sponsored resolution calling on Turkmenistan to end "serious and continuing human rights violations". The committee approved the measure by a vote of 72 to 37, with 53 abstentions and the resolution is now likely to be adopted by the full General Assembly.
A spokesperson for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate of the European Commission told Forum 18 from Brussels on 2 December that the resolution was part of a long-term process. "The EU has wished to maintain pressure on the regime in Ashgabad as a useful means of achieving change in the policies of the government of Turkmenistan."
The resolution followed several EU moves, including a resolution adopted in April at the UN human rights committee in Geneva. "The EU will continue its efforts towards meaningful dialogue with Turkmenistan in the coming months," the spokesperson added.
Also criticising Turkmenistan has been the US Helsinki Commission, an independent federal agency that monitors compliance with OSCE human rights commitments. In a 2 December statement, the commission condemned what it called the new "highly repressive law against religion" and urged Secretary of State Colin Powell to designate Turkmenistan as a "Country of Particular Concern," in the light of the "growing repression against those who seek to profess and practise their faith".
In his speech to the OSCE ministerial meeting in Maastricht on 2 December, Powell complained that "Turkmenistan's persecution of political opponents and religious minorities violates the letter and the spirit of the Helsinki Act."
Meanwhile, Jehovah's Witnesses say it is too early to say how the new law will be implemented, but say their communities already face difficulties. Sources have told Forum 18 that known Jehovah's Witnesses are invited or brought to the 6th department of the Interior Ministry (which combats organised crime and terrorism) and questioned. "Sometimes this is done with threats and insults only, sometimes they are heavily beaten up," the Jehovah's Witnesses told Forum 18. They said that during the summer such pressure was even heavier than now, although it continues.
The Jehovah's Witnesses also report that the authorities have continued to fine people 250,000 to 1,000,000 manats (325 to 1300 Norwegian kroner, 40 to 160 Euros or 49 to 196 US dollars at the inflated official exchange rate) just for having a Bible or biblical literature in the bag or meeting together in a private flat. "There is the danger that with the implementation of the new law, all such cases will be prosecuted as criminal cases and the believers may be sentenced to prison terms."
A Protestant from a church that has several congregations in different towns across Turkmenistan told Forum 18 that church members are concerned about the new law, but are continuing to meet as unostentatiously as they can to try to avoid problems. The Protestant said that the congregations have not faced any special problems in recent months and it is too early to see what impact the new law will have on them.
Source: F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Secret Police close down Mosque refusing to go against Islam
By Felix Corley
Forum 18 News (19.11.2003)--Website: http://www.forum18.org -- HRWF Int. (20.11.2003) C Website: http://www.hrwf.net/ - Email: info@hrwf.net - Officers of the State Security Ministry (MSS) (the former KGB) closed down a Sunni mosque earlier this year because one of its leaders refused to put a copy of the Ruhnama (Book of the Soul), President Saparmurat Niyazov's book of spiritual writings, on the same stand as the Koran during Friday prayers, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. A leading member of the mosque was twice interrogated by the secret police for several days, sources told Forum 18. The sources insisted that neither the individual nor the mosque - nor the town in which it is located - be identified for fear of further reprisals against those concerned.
The Ruhnama, which officials have likened to the Koran or the Bible, plays a significant role in President Niyazov's massive cult of personality and is compulsorily imposed on schools and the wider public. All imams in large mosques are required to put the Ruhnama longside the Koran during prayers and sources have told Forum 18 that most imams reluctantly comply for fear of being punished or jailed (see F18News 2 October 2003 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=151 ).
Trouble started for the mosque when a three-member television crew arrived during prayers and said they were to prepare a report about how the mosque was "abiding by state policy" and "supporting the current political system and the president's way". They explained that all they needed was to make a short video report of Friday prayers showing that the people in the mosque were using two books during prayers, the Koran and the Ruhnama. The mosque leaders strongly refused to allow the report, declaring that it would contradict the teachings of Islam which prohibits the use of any materials other than the Koran while praying. Several days later, one leading member of the mosque was detained and taken to the MSS. There he was repeatedly questioned for three days about why he refused to allow the Ruhnama to be placed in the mosque. He was released only after he agreed to the report being made.
When the television crew arrived at the mosque again to film the report, the leaders provided a special place for them to put the Ruhnama in another part of the room. However, the television crew insisted that the Koran and the Ruhnama must be side by side. The Mosque leaders refused, insisting that they could not put anything alongside the Koran and could not pray to it. They also refused to use any words during prayers that were not from the Koran (mosques are required to incorporate prayers for President Niyazov into regular prayers). The mosque leaders told the television crew they would agree to the television report only if they could specify where the Ruhnama would be placed. No agreement was reached and the television crew left.
The MSS then detained the mosque leader again and interrogated him for several days. officers banned him from attending the mosque in future, or to hold any position at any other mosque. They then closed down the mosque, putting locks on the doors, and it remains closed.
The mosque leaders reportedly argued among themselves whether to accede to state pressure to place the Ruhnama in the mosque with equal prominence to the Koran. Some argued that it is just a book and formally does not contain anything anti-Islamic, maintaining that local believers will suffer now that the mosque is closed. Others argued that accepting such a clear contradiction of their Islamic faith should not even be considered.
"The mosque leader is a very intelligent person who knows Arabic and has a high school diploma," one source told Forum 18. "He is a strong believer in Islam and did everything in his power to develop the mosque, spending his own money to repair it and buying books to interest the people and their children in the true Islamic faith. The mosque was very popular, because it was built up on believers' money and not with government money, like many other mosques in Turkmenistan." The mosque was respected especially for its education work with children.
Forum 18 has learnt that the mosque leader still has to report to the MSS several times a month, although he has made it absolutely clear he is not involved in any wider political opposition to President Niyazov. However, MSS officers continue to pressure him to accept the Ruhnama in the mosque.
Murad Karryev, deputy head of the Gengeshi (Council) for Religious Affairs, reported in nearly November that there are some 395 registered mosques in Turkmenistan (see 18News 11 November 2003 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=180 ). Many more, especially Shia mosques, have been closed down by the authorities in the past five years.
Source: F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Religious minorities and conscientious objectors
AI (06.08.2003)/ HRWF Int. (13.08.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email info@hrwf.net - Under the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations, religious congregations are required to register with the government, and since re-registration of religious organizations was made compulsory in early 1997 only two groups - the Russian Orthodox Church and Sunni Muslims - obtained registration.
Those belonging to religious groups that are not officially sanctioned, such as... Jehovah's Witnesses, ... have been denied any public religious activities and have faced imprisonment, deportation, internal exile, house eviction and harassment for years. Many have faced harassment by the authorities also for religious activities carried out in private, for example, when holding services in private homes. Amnesty International has documented many cases in which members of religious minorities were tortured or ill-treated by law enforcement officers. Many foreign missionaries have been deported from Turkmenistan in recent years and several ethnic Turkmen followers who advocated a religious belief other than those officially sanctioned have been forced into exile or have been sent into internal exile.
In addition, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Sunni Muslim community are under strict state control and members of registered religious groups have apparently also been targeted and punished when daring to express any kind of dissent.
There is no civilian alternative in Turkmenistan for young men who object to compulsory military service on grounds of conscience. Those who refuse conscription face imprisonment under criminal law. Amnesty International continues to receive reports of young men imprisoned in Turkmenistan solely for their refusal to serve in the army on religious grounds.
Twenty-year-old Kurban Zakirov, a Jehovah's Witness, is currently serving a prison sentence of eight years in particularly harsh conditions in a labour colony in Turkmenbashi. He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment in May 1999 for refusing to serve in the army on religious grounds. Since then, he was allegedly twice denied release for his refusal on conscientious grounds to swear an oath of allegiance to President Saparmurad Niyazov, first when he was pardoned in December 1999 and again upon completion of his sentence around April 2000. Following his second refusal, a new criminal case was brought against him and he was sentenced to an additional eight years' imprisonment. There is reason to believe that this case was fabricated to punish him for his religious beliefs.
On 2 July 2002 21-year old Nikolay Shelekhov was sentenced a second time for his objection to serve in the army on religious grounds. The Jehovah's Witness was convicted of "evasion of military call-up" (Article 219 Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan) and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment by the President Niyazov District Court in the capital city of Ashgabat. Appeals lodged against his sentence with Ashgabat City Court and
the Supreme Court were turned down in August and October respectively.
Nikolay Shelekhov is still suffering from illnesses, including kidney problems, contracted during his previous imprisonment between August 2000 and December 2001.
Recommended action:
Please send letters to President Niyazov in English, Russian, Turkmen or your own language, asking him to:
- immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience, including Nikolay Shelekhov and Kurban Zakirov and political prisoner Mukhametkuli Aymuradov, convicted in 1995 in an unfair trial;
- ensure that all those convicted in connection with the 25 November 2002 events as well as all other political prisoners who were sentenced following unfair trials are granted a retrial in procedures which meet international standards of fairness; and ensure that independent trial observers are granted access to the trials;
- carry out impartial and thorough investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment, including of Batyr Berdyev, Aili, Esenaman, Amanmukhammet, Orazmamed and Yklym Yklymov, Svetlana Prokofyeva, her mother, Davlatgeldi Annanyyazov (Turkmenistan's former Ambassador to OSCE), and others detained following the 25 November 2002 events;
- publish the findings of these investigations;
- bring to justice those found responsible and provide full reparation to the victims;
grant access to the prisoners detained following the events of 25 November 2002 by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other independent bodies and the prisoners' families;
- ensure that parcels with medicine and food can be passed to the prisoners;
ensure the protection of the human rights of the family members of known or perceived government opponents;
- ensure respect for the human rights of civil society activists and ensure that non-governmental organizations and civil society activists are able to carry out their peaceful activities free from harassment and persecution;
- ensure that everyone in Turkmenistan is able to exercise peacefully their right to freedom of religion without threat of imprisonment, detention or harassment;
- release promptly and unconditionally all those imprisoned for their refusal on conscientious grounds to perform military service, and refrain from imprisoning anyone else as a conscientious objector;
- introduce legislative provisions to ensure that a civilian alternative of non-punitive length is available to all those whose conscientiously-held beliefs preclude them from performing military service.
Source: AI Index: EUR 61/012/2003; public
Police "angry" at Forum 18 report of Hare Krishna raid
By Igor Rotar
Forum 18 News Service (08.07.2003)/ HRWF Int. (08.07.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Colonel Byashim Taganov, who led a police raid on a house owned by a Hare Krishna devotee in the capital Ashgabad, has expressed his anger that news of the incident reached the outside world through Forum 18 News Service's report of 10 June. Pressure on Hare Krishna devotees has intensified. Forum 18 has learnt that Taganov summoned members of the Hare Krishna community and tried to establish the whereabouts of two leading members, Varshana prabhu (Vitali Yefremovtsev) and Mishra Bhagavan prabhu (Marat Urayev). He warned the devotees that he would arrest the two men because he believed they had passed on information about the raid.
On 27 May, a 15-strong operative group from the Ashgabad city division of the Internal Affairs Ministry raided the home of female devotee Gaurabhakta devi dasi. The house used to be the Hare Krishna temple in Ashgabad until it was closed down by the authorities. During the raid the three residents Varshana prabhu, Mishra Bhagavan prabhu and Gaurabhakta devi dasi were arrested. The entry and subsequent search were conducted without any legal documents.
Police officers filmed everyone and everything in the house and took away all items of worship and all religious books. In attempting to extract information from Mishra Bhagavan, the police beat him so hard that blood flowed. Then Varshana prabhu and Mishra Bhagavan were taken to a holding centre before being fined the following day at Ashgabad's Chindigin district court. After the hearing the police warned Mishra Bhagavan that if he did not stop his religious activity, a criminal case would be brought against him and he would serve "several years" in prison (see F18News 10 June 2003).
Although Colonel Taganov had flatly denied on 9 June that he had led the raid, after speaking to Forum 18 he launched an investigation into who had reported the raid and subsequent fines to Forum 18.
The Turkmen authorities have refused to allow any non-Muslim or non-Russian Orthodox communities to register. Yet the law on religion does not ban meetings of members of unregistered religious associations.
Moreover, the constitutional law of Turkmenistan (no 27-II) signed by President Saparmurat Niyazov on 12 May 2000 bans searches in private homes, regarding these as "a symbol of the sanctity of the domestic hearth, ownership, family authority, and human honour, dignity and pride."
The law makes only limited exceptions. "A search may be allowed in exceptional circumstances in strict accordance with the law, where weapons, ammunition, explosive devices or significant quantities of drugs (over 5 kilograms) are being kept in places of residence. Additionally, a search may be conducted only with the permission of the regional, city or district commission, consisting of representatives of state agencies, public organisations and the law enforcement agencies."
Despite the questionable legal basis the government treats all unregistered religious activity as illegal, periodically raids private homes where religious meetings are taking place and punishes those involved in them. Religious activity is supervised by the 6th department of the National Security Committee (KNB, former KGB), the police and the local authorities.
In addition to two raids on Hare Krishna devotees (a community in a village near Mari was also raided about the same time as the Ashgabad raid), at least eight Protestant congregations have been raided across Turkmenistan since the beginning of May (see F18 News 25 June 2003).
Source: http://www.forum18.org/
Crackdown widens to Hare Krishna community
by Igor Rotar
Forum 18 News Service (10.06.2003)/ HRWF Int. (12.06.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The crackdown against Protestant congregations in Turkmenistan has now widened to include the Hare Krishna community. Within a two day period in late May, two Hare Krishna meetings were raided by the authorities. During the raid in a village near the town of Mari in eastern Turkmenistan, officials confined themselves to filming the devotees, but in the capital Ashgabad, the raid was more severe. Hare Krishna sources have told Forum 18 News Service that three devotees were detained, one was badly beaten and two were fined. One was threatened with a criminal case, while another was threatened with deportation from the capital.
On 27 May, a 15-strong operational group from the Ashgabad city division of the Internal Affairs Ministry raided the home of a female devotee, Gaurabhakta devi dasi, Hare Krishna sources told Forum 18. The house used to be the Hare Krishna temple in Ashgabad until it was closed down by the authorities. During the raid, which was led by Colonel Byashim Taganov, the three residents Varshana dasa (Vitali Yefremovtsev), Mishra Bhagavan dasa (Marat Urayev) and Gaurabhakta devi dasi were arrested.
The operational group arrived in seven cars at 5.30 a.m. They entered the residence as the three were praying. The entry and subsequent search were conducted without any legal documents.
Hare Krishna sources told Forum 18 that the officers filmed everyone and everything in the house. They removed the icons from the altar, took away all items of worship and all religious books. "They made profuse use of abusive language," sources added. The officers ordered the devotees to reveal where other Hare Krishna devotees lived, but the devotees refused to tell them. Colonel Taganov told them they intended to find out where the devotees lived and "repress them in a similar fashion".
In attempting to extract information from Mishra Bhagavan, the police beat him so hard that they drew blood. Then Varshana dasa and Mishra Bhagavan were taken to a holding centre. The next morning they were taken from there to the Chindigin district court in Ashgabad. At a closed legal hearing Urayev and Yefremovtsev were handed down a fine of some 10 US dollars each under the code of administrative offences. After the court hearing the police warned Urayev, who had previously been punished under the administrative code, that if he did not stop his religious activity, a criminal case would be brought against him and he would serve "several years" in prison.
"I take these threats very seriously," Urayev told Forum 18 from Mari. "Basically, the only way for me not to end up in prison is to seek asylum in another country." Gaurabhakta devi dasi was not taken to prison, but the local authorities have indicated that they will initiate proceedings against her, that her private home will be confiscated and that she will be removed from Ashgabad and sent to another city.
A similar event occurred during the Narsimha celebration on 26 May in the village of Budenovsky near Mari. Fifteen officials of the local authority came to the celebration ceremony and filmed everyone and everything. But nobody was arrested and nothing was confiscated. The devotees from Mari say that now there is no repression in Mari and that "everything is quiet".
Police colonel Taganov flatly denied that he had led the raid on a Hare Krishna community. "I know nothing about the incident," he told Forum 18 from Ashgabad on 9 June. Urayev found his claim difficult to believe. "That is very strange," he told Forum 18 on 9 June. "I spoke with Taganov at some length. I cannot believe that he has forgotten personally interrogating me and my fellow devotees." Forum 18's telephone call on 9 June to the holding centre in Ashgabad was also fruitless. The duty officer, who did not introduce himself, said "we do not give information about detainees over the telephone".
The Turkmenistan authorities have refused to allow any non-Muslim or non-Russian Orthodox communities to register. It treats all unregistered religious activity as illegal and periodically punishes those involved in it. Religious activity is supervised by the 6th department of the National Security Committee (KNB, former KGB), the police and the local authorities. In addition to the two raids on Hare Krishna devotees, at least seven Protestant congregations were raided across Turkmenistan in May
Source: http://www.forum18.org/
Threats and fines follow break-up of Baptist Sunday service
by Igor Rotar
Forum 18 News Service (15.05.2003)/ HRWF Int. (19.05.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - One of the five law enforcement officers who raided the Sunday morning service of a Baptist church held in a private flat in the Caspian port city of Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) on 11 May has insisted to Forum 18 News Service that he and his colleagues did nothing wrong. "There were no violations of the law in the actions of the authorities," Shanazar Kocheev, head of the city administration department for letters and complaints, told Forum 18 from Turkmenbashi on 15 May. "This was an illegal meeting and we broke it up." The Baptists reject accusations that their service broke the law. In a 12 May letter, they called on the city procuracy to "assist in halting the illegal actions" of the officials, "as well as to defend our constitutional rights to believe in God and to confess our religion".
Kocheev told Forum 18 that by participating in an "illegal meeting", the Baptists broke Article 205 of the Administrative Code, which punishes "violation of the law on religion". He said the Baptists' "violations" are now being considered by the administrative commission of the city khyakimlik (administration), of which he is a member. He added that he expected them each to be fined 250,000 manats (340 Norwegian kroner, 43 Euros or 50 US dollars), the average monthly wage, by the end of today (15 May).
When Forum 18 pointed out that Turkmenistan's laws do not ban meetings by unregistered religious communities, Kocheev responded: "First of all, the Baptists make no secret of the fact that they're not prepared to register. Secondly, they regularly hold such meetings, which is not acceptable."
A 12 May report from church members reaching Forum 18 declared that the church had gathered for "joint prayer and reading of the Bible" at the flat of church member M. Sheldkret. At about 10.30 am, the five officials burst in "under the guise of verifying the passport regulations". In addition to Kocheev, the Baptists named the other officials as local police officer Esen Berdyev, Araz Tekaev, who handles religious affairs at the khyakimlik, secret police officer Dovlat Charyev, and procuracy official Murad Amanov.
"They checked the identity document of the host and then began a search of the flat: the bathroom, toilet, cupboards, shelves, and other rooms," the Baptists complained in their 12 May letter to the procuracy. Kocheev then asked Sheldkret to introduce her guests. "After greeting them, they broke up the service, very angry at seeing many children. They threatened to deprive the parents of their parental rights, summon people to an administrative commission and deprive the owner of her flat." The officials accused the Baptists of holding an "illegal gathering" and told them they were breaking article 205 of the administrative code.
They then ordered Sheldkret to send her guests away, although not before asking who was the leader of the church and writing down personal details of all those present, including children. They threatened to take one of those present, Vladimir Lemeshko, to the police station and to take "appropriate measures" against him if he did not stop serving the church.
While five officials conducted the raid, a further twelve were waiting at the ground floor entrance to the block. The Baptists reported that they had been summoned by Amanov of the procuracy "to break up the meeting".
The Turkmenbashi congregation belongs to the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians/Baptists, which rejects registration on principle in all the former Soviet republics where it operates. Its congregations in Turkmenistan face constant harassment from the authorities, which regard all their activities as illegal.
The Baptist church in Balkanabad was raided by the National Security Committee and the police in March and April and children of church members were interrogated and threatened in school (see F18News 11 April 2003).
Even had these Baptist congregations wished to register that would have been impossible: the highly restrictive religion law requires each individual religious community seeking registration to have 500 adult citizen members who live in one district of a city or one rural district. In addition, there is an unpublished ban on registering congregations of any faiths other than Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox.
Some believers have been imprisoned, while others have been forced either to hide in their own country or leave for exile abroad. Protestant Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hare Krishna devotees, Baha'is, Jews and even the Armenian Apostolic Church have been denied any public religious activity.
Source: http://www.forum18.org/
Ex-KGB leads raid on Baptist Church
By Igor Rotar, Forum 18 News Service
F18News (21.03.2003)/ HRWF Int. (24.03.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net -Eight officers raided the Sunday morning worship service on 16 March in the unregistered Baptist church in the city of Balkanabad (formerly Nebit-Dag) in western Turkmenistan. A statement from the church reaching Forum 18 News Service reports that the officers were led by Kadyr Meredov, the local officer of the National Security Committee (NSC, the former KGB) responsible for controlling religious groups, and included fellow NSC officer Bayram Toyliev, procuracy official Enesh Chulgukov and police officers. Forum 18 was unable to find out from NSC or procuracy officials in Balkanabad why the church had been raided.
"They accused us of holding an unapproved meeting and violating the law on religious cults," the church complained in their 18 March statement. "They banned us from meeting until we had registered our church with the justice authorities, and warned us that otherwise, a police officer would be present at each of our services."
The officers drew up a document certifying that there had been an unapproved meeting and took the names, addresses and places of work of all those present, including children. It remains unclear if any of those who organised or attended the service will face charges under the code of administrative offences.
Because of the Novruz spring holiday, few officials were at their desks on 21 March. No-one answered the telephone at the city NSC. The duty officer at the regional NSC in Balkanabad rejected suggestions that NSC officers would have raided a church. "It cannot have been," the officer told Forum 18. "They could have been warned, but that wouldn't have happened inside a church, but maybe outside." Asked to give his name, the officer declared: "Why do you need my name? You know where you're ringing. We don't give names."
No-one answered the telephone on 21 March at the regional procuracy, but the duty official at the city procuracy, Bayram Bayramov, told Forum 18 that he knew nothing of the incident. Asked why the church had been raided if Turkmenistan's laws do not specifically forbid unregistered religious worship, he responded: "I don't know."
The Baptist congregation belongs to the International Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians/Baptists, which rejects registration on principle in all the former Soviet republics where it operates. Even had its congregations wished to register in Turkmenistan that would have been impossible: the highly restrictive religion law requires each individual religious community seeking registration to have 500 adult citizen members who live in one district of a city or one rural district. In addition, there is an unpublished ban on registering congregations of any faiths other than Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox.
Some believers have been imprisoned, while others have been forced either to hide in their own country or leave for exile abroad. Protestant Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hare Krishna devotees, Baha'is, Jews and even the Armenian Apostolic Church have been denied any public religious activity.
Source: F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at http://www.forum18.org/
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