IRFN (Dec. 12-Dec. 19): Belarus: “To pray to God they must have a registered place of worship”

Dec 19, 2007

International Religious Freedom Archive
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1. China: 270 Arrested in Raid on Prayer Service (Dec. 11)
2. Kazakhstan: Jehovah's Witnesses Denied Legal Status (Dec. 12)
3. Egypt: 22 Detained for "Contempt for Religion" (Dec. 12)
4. France Upholds Turban Ban for Sikh Students (Dec. 13)
5. Turkmenistan: Government Prevents Muslims from Making Pilgrimage (Dec. 14)
6. Belarus: Baptists Fined for Unregistered Meeting (Dec. 17)
7. Malaysia: Detained for "Threatening Racial and Religious Harmony" (Dec. 18)

Feature: How Pakistan's political system marginalizes religious minorities, from AsiaNews.

1. China: 270 Arrested in Raid on Prayer Service
December 11
Shandong Province, China
Radio Free Asia reports that police in Shandong province, in southeast China, raided a Christian prayer service on December 7th, where they arrested the 270 people who were participating. Days later, most had been released, but at least 70 were still in police custody. Those who attended the meeting said it appeared that police had mistakenly identified them as Falun Gong adherents, but then held them anyway upon discovering that their religious meeting was unregistered. Some of those arrested were reported to have been beaten or to have suffered mental torture during their detention.

2. Kazakhstan: Jehovah's Witnesses Denied Legal Status
December 12
Atyrau, Kazakhstan
Forum 18 reports that the Jehovah's Witnesses in the Caspian Sea port town of Atyrau is the latest religious community to run into problems with Kazakh authorities, this time over the group's registration. Kazakh authorities deemed the lack of a work phone number on the community's application sufficient grounds to reject the application, leaving the community without legal registration, which will put them at risk for fines and imprisonment if they are caught engaging in "unregistered worship". Other faith communities in the region have likewise run into problems with the local government; last summer, one of the area's independent Muslim communities was forced to hand over their mosque to the government-backed Muftiate.

3. Egypt: 22 Detained for "Contempt for Religion"
December 12
Cairo, Egypt
Reuters reports that 22 men were arrested by Egyptian authorities on charges of "contempt for religion" and "membership in an illegal organization". The men allegedly belonged to an unorthodox Islamic movement, known as the al-Ahbash sect, which embraced certain beliefs that were out of line with mainstream Islam. Officials reported that the men "possessed literature outlining their beliefs" and were in the process of spreading their beliefs at Egypt's most prestigious Islamic university, al-Azhar. All of the men are currently still in custody, with eight being questioned by prosecutors.

4. France Upholds Turban Ban for Sikh Students
December 13
France
United Sikhs reports that France's highest court, the Conseil d'Etat, has ruled that the ban on Sikh turbans in French schools was legal. The decision comes three years after three Sikh students were expelled from a high school in Seine-Saint-Denis for wearing the keski, or under-turban, to school, which constituted an "ostensible manifestation of religion". The court concluded that the students' permanent expulsion did not constitute "an excessive infringement upon the freedom of thought, conscience and religion" guaranteed in the European Convention of Human Rights, as the French ban was in the interest of secularism and applied to all religious signs, thus rendering it non-discriminatory. To read more about this case and the Becket Fund’s collaboration with United Sikhs in advising the three Sikh schoolboys, click here.

5. Turkmenistan: Government Prevents Muslims from Making Pilgrimage
December 14
Turkmenistan
Forum 18 reports that despite promises from the government that any Muslim pilgrim wishing to do so would be allowed to undertake the haj, only 188 pilgrims have currently been granted permission to make the trip to Saudi Arabia. The entire group, which fills one aircraft, was selected "under complete government control" and include Turkmen officials and members of the country's secret police. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has said it would be prepared for up to 5,000 pilgrims from Turkmenistan, and neighboring Iran has offered to make buses available for the pilgrims, but the government of Turkmenistan seems intent on capping the number of pilgrims allowed to make the trip.

6. Belarus: “To pray to God they must have a registered place of worship”
December 17
Baranovichi, Belarus
Forum 18 reports that a Baptist pastor, Dmitry Osyko, received a fine of two weeks' average wages from the Belarusian government for leading a service in a private home, before an unregistered community. (The owners of the home also received fines of more than one month's wages). Members of the congregation believe that their right to freedom of assembly is guaranteed by the Belarusian constitution, and refuse to seek registration, but officials in Baranovichi said that “to pray to God they must have a registered place of worship.” Local ideology officials raided the service, saying that private homes could not serve as places of worship.

7. Malaysia: Hindraf Detained for "Threatening Racial and Religious Harmony"
December 18
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Human Rights Watch reports that the government of Malaysia arrested five leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), who had been highly visible in protests to draw attention to what they believe are instances of state-based discrimination against Malaysia's Indian population. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi allegedly said that five had undermined national security by threatening racial and religious harmony among the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities. All are currently held under the country's Internal Security Act, which permits indefinite detention without charge or trial. Human rights groups and the State Department have focused in due process problems and Hindu temple destruction, which Hindraf has aggressively protested. Read more from the AFP.