JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FIGHTING TO IMPORT LITERATURE UNDER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001077

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KIRF TI
SUBJECT: JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FIGHTING TO IMPORT LITERATURE UNDER
TAJIK LAW

REF: A) DUSHANBE 790 B) DUSHANBE 623

DUSHANBE 00001077 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: Jehovah's Witness Associate Counsel Gregory
Olds expressed concern that that Customs officials' recent
seizure of a shipment of his organization's religious literature
represents a worrying shift in the Tajik government's attitude
towards religious freedom and censorship. During his July 10
meeting with Ambassador and PolOff, Olds noted that whereas the
Customs Service previously complied with well-publicized
restrictions on the import of pornography and other
objectionable material, there now appears to be a more nebulous,
cumbersome and arbitrary system in place - demanding the
affirmative approval of the Ministry of Culture that individual
materials are suitable for dissemination in Tajikistan. Kiril
Kulikov, a Russian lawyer for Jehovah's Witness handling the
organization's legal action against the Tajik Customs Service,
provided an overview of ongoing court proceedings in Dushanbe.
End Summary


2. (SBU) Background: When a shipment of Jehovah's Witness
religious literature arrived in Tajikistan April 17, customs
officials determined that the organization did not have
permission from the Department of Religious Affairs under the
Ministry of Culture to import the materials and seized the
shipment. (Reftel A). Samples went to the Ministry of Culture
for "expert study" in order to verify their conformance with
Tajik laws. This study - which the ministry has not released -
allegedly found the materials to be illegal, and prompted the
State Committee on National Security to request that the
offending shipment be transported out of the country.

WORKING WITHIN THE SYSTEM


3. (SBU) Olds conveyed his organization's respect for the
right of any sovereign nation to regulate the import of
pornographic and other offensive materials. However, he also
emphasized that a censorship campaign actively targeting
Jehovah's Witness members and activities would not be met by
meek acquiescence. Therefore, his organization is responding
through both political and legal channels in Tajikistan.


4. (SBU) On the political front, Olds has come to Dushanbe from
Jehovah's Witness headquarters in New York to raise awareness
among diplomatic missions of the freedom of religion issues at
stake, and to attempt to meet with high-level Tajik officials to
resolve the issue. Sensing that the seized shipment may have
raised eyebrows in part due to its large size (approximately
five tons),Olds noted that he was authorized to negotiate with
Tajik authorities on the volume of literature and other
materials imported by his organization. In addition, Olds
expressed interest in meeting Muradullo Davlatov, Deputy
Minister of Culture for Religious Affairs, because Davlatov's
hostility towards Jehovah's Witness activities seems to be a
primary source of the organization's present difficulties.
However local representatives of Jehovah's Witness have
unsuccessfully tried to meet with senior Ministry of Culture
officials over the past month.


5. (SBU) Jehovah's Witness representatives have brought two
legal actions against the Customs Service. However, initial
results have been discouraging and both cases are currently
under appeal. In the first case, the judge demanded that
counsel for Jehovah's Witness produce the "expert report" of the
Ministry of Culture that formed the basis of the State Committee
on National Security's decision to order the removal of the
shipment. However, on order of the State Committee on National
Security, the Ministry of Culture refused to release the report.
Without the report, the judge ruled that Jehovah's Witness
could not prove its case, and the action was dismissed. In the
second case, the judge ruled that the involvement of the State
Committee on National Security made the issue a military matter,
and that the action must therefore be dismissed and re-filed in
military court.


6. (SBU) Despite the difficulties pursuing claims through
official legal channels, both Olds and the Ambassador agreed
that such steps are necessary and crucial, and may produce
unexpected results. However, Ambassador also noted that the
recent troubles experienced by Jehovah's Witnesses in Tajikistan
(including allegations of physical assault by the authorities,
in addition to the seizure of their literature, reftel A) are
symptomatic of a broader trend of increased governmental control
over all religious activity and many other aspects of life in
Tajikistan since the November 2006 presidential election.


DUSHANBE 00001077 002.2 OF 002



7. (SBU) Comment: The Jehovah's Witnesses have a long struggle
ahead, with a national government increasingly suspicious of
outside organizations and the Ministry of Culture and State
Committee on National Security looking for reasons to seize
their literature, interrupt meetings (reftel B),and interrogate
their members. Using the Tajik court system, however
dysfunctional, to fight for their cause is an essential step to
convincing local authorities to respect the freedom of religion
guaranteed under the Tajik constitution. Post will continue to
monitor the situation, and raise the issue with top-level
government officials, emphasizing Tajikistan's legal obligations
and international agreements for freedom of religion. End
Comment.
JACOBSON