Azerbaijan; Kyrgyzstan

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Azerbaijan; Kyrgyzstan

By Rowland Croucher and others ⋅ November 11, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

http://www.forum18.org/

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

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3 November 2008

AZERBAIJAN: AUTHORITIES “DRAGGING OUT” BAPTIST PASTOR’S TRIAL AND BAKU MOSQUE CASE

http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1212

The long-delayed trial of Baptist pastor Hamid Shabanov in Zakatala on charges of possessing an illegal weapon is due to resume on 5 November, his lawyer and family told Forum 18 News Service. The charges carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Church members say police planted the weapon in the pastor’s home to punish him for his leadership of the church. Meanwhile, four days after ruling that the closed Abu-Bekr mosque in Baku should be allowed to reopen, the same judge overturned his own decision, the mosque’s lawyer Javanshir Suleymanov told Forum 18. He says police claim the mosque faces a threat of a second attack. “This is just stupid. They don’t have the right to scare people like that,” Suleymanov told Forum 18. He pointed out that if such a serious threat exists it would be investigated by the National Security Ministry, not the ordinary police. The State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations refused to discuss these cases with Forum 18.

6 November 2008

AZERBAIJAN: PASTOR AWAITS TRIAL HEARING UNDER HOUSE ARREST

http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1214

Baptist pastor Hamid Shabanov – on trial since July for allegedly possessing an illegal gun – was transferred from prison to house arrest at a hearing in Zakatala on 5 November, church members told Forum 18 News Service. He had been detained for twenty weeks. His next hearing is due on 17 November. He insisted that the accusation against him is fabricated. “The police came into my house back in June and placed the pistol there,” he told Forum 18. “The first time I saw it was when they claim to have found it.” He believes he will eventually be cleared. “The Word of God is stronger than a pistol.” Shabanov’s church has been denied legal status since the 1990s, one of three Baptist congregations whose applications have failed. Also denied registration is an Assemblies of God congregation in Baku, whose pastor insisted to Forum 18 that the authorities simply do not want to register any more Christian churches. The State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations refused to discuss registration denials with Forum 18, but its head Hidayat Orujev told the local media on 5 November: “Not one religious organisation applying recently for registration was denied it.”

5 November 2008 KYRGYZSTAN: RESTRICTIVE LAW DUE FOR FINAL PARLIAMENTARY VOTE ON THURSDAY http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1213 Kyrgyzstan’s restrictive new Religion Law is due to be voted on for the second and final time tomorrow (6 November), Forum 18 News Service has learnt. If the draft Law – whose exact text is unavailable for public discussion – is passed, it will go to President Kurmanbek Bakiev for signature. One human rights defender pointed out that, as the draft Law openly breaks the Kyrgyz Constitution, this would be a very strong ground for the Law to be turned down. Provisions that have caused concern to religious communities and human rights defenders include: a ban on children being involved in religious organisations; a ban on “aggressive action aimed at proselytism”; a ban on the distribution of religious literature, print, audio-video religious materials; and de facto compulsory re-registration of all registered religious organisations. Representatives of various religious communities have complained to Forum 18 about both numerous provisions and the secrecy surrounding the whole legislative process. The Law breaks Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights commitments and has been strongly criticised by an OSCE / Venice Commission legislative review.

6 November 2008 KYRGYZSTAN: RESTRICTIVE RELIGION LAW PASSES PARLIAMENT UNANIMOUSLY http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1215 Kyrgyzstan’s proposed new Religion Law has been adopted unanimously by the country’s parliament today (6 November), Forum 18 News Service has found. The Law will go to President Kurmanbek Bakiev around 15 November, who then has at least a month to sign it or return it to Parliament. The Law as passed states that 200 people will be needed to register a religious organisation, contrary to assurances that Deputy Zainiddin Kurmanov, the main author of the Law, gave a visiting delegation from the European Parliament. Deputies significantly harshened this part of the Law, by voting unanimously that the identity of all 200 founders must now also be confirmed by local keneshes (elected local administrations). “How can we gather 200 people to sign official papers for the State Agency for Religious Affairs, and then get them to go to local keneshes with their passports to be identified?” the Baha’i community complained. “People are usually reserved about signing official papers.” Christian leaders are also very concerned about the new Law. No changes were made to bring the Law into line with either Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights commitments, or the Kyrgyz Constitution. * See full article below. *

6 November 2008 KYRGYZSTAN: RESTRICTIVE RELIGION LAW PASSES PARLIAMENT UNANIMOUSLY

http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1215 By Mushfig Bayram, Central Asia Correspondent, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>

Kyrgyzstan’s restrictive Religion Law has been adopted unanimously by 79 deputies in the country’s single-chamber parliament, the Zhogorku Kenesh, today (6 November) Forum 18 News Service has found. Now that the Law’s second and final reading is complete, it will go to President Kurmanbek Bakiev for signature. He will have at least one month to either sign the Law or send it back to Parliament.

The Law as passed states that 200 people will be needed to register a religious organisation, contrary to assurances that Deputy Zainiddin Kurmanov, Chair of the parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Law, Legality and Human Rights, gave a visiting delegation from the European Parliament. Kurmanov is the main author of the Law (see F18News 5 November <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1213>). Deputies significantly harshened this part of the Law, by voting unanimously that the identity of all 200 founders must now also be confirmed by local keneshes (elected local administrations).

The Baha’i community told Forum 18 on 6 November that this harshening of the Law was very significant. “How can we gather 200 people to sign official papers for the State Agency for Religious Affairs, and then get them to go to local keneshes with their passports to be identified?” the Baha’is complained. “People are usually reserved about signing official papers.”

Alexander Schanz of the Lutheran Church told Forum 18 they are worried about the new Law. “At this stage we can only pray about the situation, and many churches are praying at the moment,” he told Forum 18 on 6 November. His concerns were echoed by other Christian leaders, who did not wish to comment publicly.

Despite earlier claims of Deputy Kurmanov, no changes were made to bring the Law into line with either Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights commitments or the Kyrgyz Constitution, which the Law openly breaks (see F18News 5 November <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1213>). Yildiz Kamchibekova, a senior aide to Kurmanov, told Forum 18 on 6 November that he did not take part in the vote as he was “on a business trip.” However, she added that had Kurmanov been in the parliament “he also would have voted for the Law.”

Alisher Sabirov, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Ethics and Procedure, told Forum 18 on 6 November that the Law will be sent to President Bakiev around 15 November. The delay is because of the need to finalise the text according to amendments made by deputies in the second and final debate.

Kamchibekova, Deputy Kurmanov’s aide, claimed to Forum 18 that Parliament must formally approve the final text of the law after amendments are incorporated into it. However Deputy Sabirov, whose Committee is responsible for parliamentary procedure, denied this claim. “Kamchibekova is leading you into confusion,” he told Forum 18. “There will be no more votes on the text, and it should be published on the Parliament website by Monday 10 November.”

Kamchibekova – who is responsible for preparing the final text – stated that it will be ready in “a maximum of 5 to 10 working days”. She also stated that it will then be published on the parliamentary website. Religious communities and human rights defenders have frequently complained about the secrecy surrounding the various proposed texts of the Law, and the absence of meaningful public consultation (see F18News 5 November <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1213>).

Dostan Dostan, an aide to the Kyrgyz foreign minister, State Secretary Nur uulu Dosbol – who also advises President Bakiev on social issues – told Forum 18 on 6 November that it is too early for them to comment on whether the president is likely to approve the law. “The law was just adopted by Parliament today,” he told Forum 18. “We need to see what is in it.” (END)

For background information see Forum 18′s Kyrgyzstan religious freedom survey at <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=222>.

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Kyrgyzstan can be found at <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?query=&religion=all&country=30>.

A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=806>, and of religious intolerance in Central Asia is at <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=815>.

A printer-friendly map of Kyrgyzstan is available at <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kyrgyz>. (END)