IRFN (Nov. 22-Nov. 29): Sudan Sentences British Teacher to Prison for Offending Blasphemy Laws with Teddy Bear

Nov 29, 2007

International Religious Freedom Archive
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1. Turkmenistan: Unregistered Religious Communities Warned Not to Meet (Nov. 21)
2. Uzbekistan: Two More Deaths Linked to Torture in Prisons (Nov. 22)
3. Egypt: Woman Jailed for "Misrepresenting" Religion (Nov. 22)
4. China: Not All Beliefs Are Equal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Nov. 22)
5. Azerbaijan: Two More Baptists Threatened (Nov. 27)
6. Clergy Arrested in China Following Diocesan Meeting (Nov. 27)
7. Sudan Sentences British Teacher to Prison for Offending Blasphemy Laws with Teddy Bear (Nov. 29)

Feature: Bahá'í World News Service documents the United Nations General Assembly's recent attention to the human rights situation in Iran, including the "increasing discrimination and other human rights violations against persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other minorities."

1. Turkmenistan: Unregistered Religious Communities Warned Not to Meet
November 21
Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan
Forum 18 reports that Vyacheslav Kalataevsky, the Baptist pastor of an independent congregation from Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, has been asked by local officials to put an end to the activity of his congregation, the latest in a series of efforts by the authorities to curtail the religious freedom of various religious communities in the country. Kalataevsky was told that his congregation lacked sufficient membership for registration, and that as any unregistered religious activity (including meeting to worship in private homes) is banned, he was asked to sign a statement promising to end meetings with fellow believers.

2. Uzbekistan: Two More Deaths Linked to Torture in Prisons
November 22
Andijan, Uzbekistan
The Associated Press reports that two men have died after being tortured in an Uzbek prison, where both were serving time for their alleged membership in Hizb-ut-Tahrir , classified as an extremist Islamic sect by the Uzbek government. Human rights activists in the country have noted that as the country prepares for the next presidential election (December 23), there has been an increase in the incidence of torture and in the targeting of devout Muslims, allegedly due to the government's fear of a "growing threat of Islamic fundamentalism" in the country. At least six prisoners are reported to have been tortured to death in Uzbekistan's prisons this year.

3. Egypt: Woman Jailed for "Misrepresenting" Religion
November 22
Cairo, Egypt
Agence France-Presse reports that Shadia Nagui Ibrahim, an Egyptian Christian, was sentenced to three years in jail on charges of fraud and "providing false information on official documents" for stating she was Christian on her marriage license in 1982. The charges stem from the fact that Egypt recognizes her as a Muslim due to the fact that her father had a brief conversion to Islam when Shadia was two years old, despite the fact that her father was living apart from the family at the time and that he later re-converted to Christianity. Egyptian children are obliged to take the religion of their father.

4. China: Not All Beliefs Are Equal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
November 22
China
CIPFG, or the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, has reported that China's allowances on religious material for athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics do not extend to athletes and attendees who practice Falun Gong. "Foreigners who come to China must respect and abide by the laws of China," Li Zhanjun, the News Director of the Beijing Olympics media center explained on November 8, and in China, "Falun Gong texts" and "Falun Gong activities" are forbidden. In April 2007, Beijing's Ministry of Public Service issued a blacklist of "antagonistic elements", which would be banned from attending the games, including Falun Gong adherents and "religious infiltrators".

5. Tajikistan Moves Forward with Religion Law Despite Complaints
November 27
Tajikistan
Forum 18 reports that as the OSCE and various religious organizations in Tajikistan lodge formal complaints about the country's proposed new Religion Law, Tajik officials have declined to explain the underlying need for and purpose of the new law. The proposed law, which is said to violate the Tajik constitution, includes restrictions on parents' right to educate their children according to their own religious convictions and allocates broad, unspecified powers to authorities to check on and control religious organizations. Certain articles of the draft law can be read in full in the article on Forum 18's website by following the above link.

6. Clergy Arrested in China Following Diocesan Meeting
November 27
Guangdong Province, China
AsiaNews reports that Fr. Zeng Zhongliang, the rector of the Catholic seminary for the Yujiang diocese in Jiangxi, was arrested by Chinese authorities during a visit to Guangdong province, where he had organized a meeting for clergy of the diocese. Authorities arrested Fr. Zeng and a seminarian, Wang Bin, both of whom are curently in prison in Yujiang, after confirming the diocesan meeting had taken place. Fr. Zeng had traveled to Guangdong in place of the local bishop, Msgr. Thomas Zeng Jingmu, who is currently under house arrest and could not travel.

7. Sudan Sentences British Teacher to Prison for Offending Blasphemy Laws with Teddy Bear
November 29
Khartoum, Sudan
CNN reports that a court in Sudan sentenced British elementary school teacher Gillian Gibbons to 15 days in prison and deportation on charges of inciting religious hatred.  Gibbons - a British citizen who has been teaching in Sudan since August - allowed her class of 7-year-olds to name a teddy bear “Mohammed” as part of a school project on animals and their habitats. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed his concern regarding the case to the Sudanese Ambassador to Britain and described Gibbons’ actions as an “innocent misunderstanding.” Gibbons’ lawyer has indicated that his client will be appealing the sentence.