GOVERNMENT OF TAJIKISTAN OUTLAWS JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001531

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL TI KIRF
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT OF TAJIKISTAN OUTLAWS JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

REF: DUSHANBE 1088


1. (SBU) Summary: In line with its increasingly restrictive
controls on religious practice, the Government of Tajikistan has
banned the Jehovah's Witnesses from activities in the country.
Representatives of the organization have told us that they will
appeal the government's decision, and that they will still
continue to practice their faith here. The ban represents a
step back for religious freedom and human rights in Tajikistan,
and may be a harbinger of harsh measures against other religious
groups. End summary.

Abrupt Decision to Ban
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2. (SBU) By decision of the Ministry of Culture, the Government
of Tajikistan has outlawed the Jehovah's Witnesses. The
Ministry based its decision, dated 11 October 2007, on
violations of the Constitution and the Law on Religion and
Religious Organizations, and on an order of the Prosecutor
General. In the order, the Ministry indicated that the
Jehovah's Witnesses regularly committed violations of law
because it has distributed "in public places and at the homes of
citizens...propagandistic books on their religion, which have
become a cause of discontent on the part of the people."


3. (SBU) On October 25, Greg Olds, the organization's Associate
General Counsel, met with Ambassador to brief on the situation
and the Jehovah's Witnesses' plans. He said that a
representative of the Ministry of Culture handed the decision to
the Jehovah's Witnesses' local representative on October 17,
without explanation (i.e. without prior notice or an
administrative process). The decision refers to a warning
letter from 2000, and a three-month suspension letter from 2002.
Olds, however, could not confirm whether the organization had
ever received those letters. The Ministry of Culture did not
provide the organization with the documents from the Prosecutor
General that it referenced in its decision.

Part of a Broad Plan to Restrict Religious Activity
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4. (SBU) Ambassador Jacobson told Olds and his associate,
Vladimir Voyevodin, staff attorney for the organization in
Kazakhstan, that banning the Jehovah's Witnesses represents a
step backwards for Tajikistan on human rights and religious
freedom, and that this action is part of a larger trend of
clampdowns on religious associations and practice. The
Ambassador said that the embassy expected to receive demarche
instructions about this decision from Washington soon, and that
we are also trying to engage non-governmental and international
organizations in country on the religion issue.


5. (SBU) Olds said that so far the Jehovah's Witnesses have seen
no evidence of government attempts to actually enforce the ban,
adding, however, that it has only been a short time since the
ban was announced. He indicated that the organization will not
hold meetings at its rented facility in Dushanbe, but that
Jehovah's Witnesses in Tajikistan will still "do what the Bible
tells us to do." In other words, they will still meet and
practice.


6. (SBU) As for ongoing legal issues, Olds considers the appeals
filed to release seized material in Tajikistan to be moot
(reftel). The organization will appeal their ban first to
President Rahmon's office, and if that is not successful, will
then file suit in the courts. The Ambassador suggested that the
organization also raise the issue at the Public Council, which
falls under the competency of President Rahmon's Advisor on
Social Issues. Olds further indicated that the organization had
been constructing two Kingdom Halls one in Dushanbe and one in
Tursunzade. Both are owned by Tajiks, and Olds speculated on
whether the government would attempt to seize them.

Demarche Forthcoming
--------------


7. (SBU) Comment: Banning the Jehovah's Witnesses is part of a
larger policy imposing restrictions on religious life in
Tajikistan. We have learned that the Government has used
similar means to ban another local Christian organization. The
conventional wisdom has been that the Government was targeting
independent Muslim groups, but it appears that all religious
groups outside the Government's control are considered suspect.
These actions may be harbingers of even harsher measures. End
comment.

JACOBSON