AMBASSADOR HANFORD MEETS WITH RELIGIOUS LEADERS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000865 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2018 TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV PREL SOCI UZ SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR HANFORD MEETS WITH RELIGIOUS LEADERS, SCHOLARS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS REF: A. TASHKENT 749 ¶B. TASHKENT 708 ¶C. TASHKENT 500 ¶D. TASHKENT 313 ¶E. TASHKENT 585 ¶F. TASHKENT 549 ¶G. TASHKENT 633 ¶H. 07 TASHKENT 1414 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: During a visit to Uzbekistan on May 29 - 30, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom John Hanford met with a variety of religious leaders, scholars, and human rights activists. On May 30, Hanford met a local Jehovah's Witnesses community representative, historian and religious scholar Bakhtiyor Babadjanov, Human Rights Watch director Igor Vorontsov, and a group of religious scholars and imams who previously participated in a U.S. government exchange program. DRL/IRF team leader Barbara Cates, who accompanied Hanford to Uzbekistan, also met separately with Bible Society director Sergei Mitin on May 27 and with Open Dialogue Project director Mjusa Sever on June 2. The additional meetings with the religious figures and human rights activists were useful for better understanding the current state of religious freedom in Uzbekistan for different religious communities, as well as next steps to take with the government to improve religious freedom in the country. End summary. ¶2. (C) On May 29, Hanford met with government officials to discuss Uzbekistan's Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation under the International Religious Freedom Act and the contents of a draft confidential letter, delivered by Hanford to the Uzbeks the week before his visit, which lays out steps the government could take to increase religious freedom and have its CPC designation eventually lifted (ref B). On May 30, Hanford also met with the Deputy Director of the International Committee of the Red Cross (septels). On June 16, the Uzbek government indicated that they accepted Hanford's draft letter with three exceptions. Negotiations over the final text of the letter continue. MEETING WITH JEHOVAH'S WITNESS REPRESENTATIVE -------------- ¶3. (C) On May 30, Ambassador Hanford met with Sergei Artyushkov, a leader of the Jehovah's Witness community in Uzbekistan, who reported that the Samarkand Provincial Criminal Court recently rejected the appeal of Olim Turayev, a Jehovah's Witness who was sentenced to four years-imprisonment in April on charges of illegally teaching religion and organizing an illegal religious organization (ref A). Turayev was originally arrested along with 11 other Jehovah's Witnesses in February. Artyushkov refuted the government's allegation that Turayev and the others were engaged in a religious meeting at the time of their arrest. He also reasserted that one of those arrested, a 17-year girl, was groped by a drunken officer at the police station. After the other Jehovah's Witnesses at the police station complained about the incident, the drunk officer was forced to go home. Artyushkov said that the Jehovah's Witnesses sent a complaint letter to the local prosecutor in Samarkand and the General Prosecutor's Office in Tashkent regarding the entire incident, but have not yet received a response. Artyushkov also reported that a Jehovah's Witness representative in France expressed his concern over the molestation incident with the Uzbek Ambassador to France, who reportedly strongly rebuked the Jehovah's Witnesses for publicizing the incident (Note: In contrast to its usual attempts to resolve difficulties in private negotiations with the government, the Jehovah's Witnesses publicized the molestation incident in a press release issued by their New York headquarters. End note.) Artyushkov speculated that Uzbek authorities may have then retaliated by sentencing Turayev to prison. ¶4. (C) On a more positive note, Artyushkov reported that Uzbek authorities had finally fulfilled a Samarkand court order to return Jehovah's Witness Irfan Hamidov to a light-security prison labor camp near Samarkand, where he is serving a two-year sentence for allegedly teaching religion illegally. Hamidov had been transferred earlier this year to harsher prisons in Tashkent and Navoi provinces for allegedly violating internal prison regulations. However, after the Jehovah's Witnesses submitted a lawsuit on his behalf, a court in Samarkand ruled that his transfer was illegal and demanded that he be returned to Samarkand province (ref A). ¶5. (C) Artyushkov was puzzled by the government's recent crackdown on Jehovah's Witnesses, noting that congregants have attempted to accommodate the government's concerns as much as possible. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses have reportedly refrained from distributing their literature to non-Witnesses for the past year. They also have attempted to keep their religious gatherings as discreet as possible. Artyushkov speculated that the government was under pressure from Muslim and Orthodox religious leaders to crack down on minority faiths that are seen as attempting to attract Muslim and Orthodox converts. Artyushkov also believed that Uzbek officials viewed the Jehovah's Witnesses as an "American religion," observing that their relations with the Uzbek government generally waxed and waned in line with U.S.-Uzbek relations. ¶6. (C) Artyushkov reported that the Jehovah's Witnesses had made sincere efforts to improve relations with the government. For example, they recently approached authorities with offers of humanitarian assistance, but did not receive a response. Religious Affairs Chairman Ortiq Yusupov has met with the Jehovah's Witnesses AmCit General Counsel on several occasions during the past year, but he has reportedly refused to meet with local Jehovah's Witness representatives like Artyushkov (Note: The AmCit General Counsel held a four-year Uzbek visa, which expired in April ¶2008. According to Artyushkov, he has since reapplied for a new Uzbek visa, but so far has not received a response from the Uzbek Embassy. End note.) ¶7. (C) Artyushkov explained that Jehovah's Witnesses have lived in Uzbekistan since at least the 1950s, when groups of them were deported from Ukraine and Moldova by Stalin and later Khrushchev, initially settling in Chirchik, a small city near Tashkent. He reported that there were now approximately 3,000 Jehovah's Witnesses living in Uzbekistan, a number which he said has not increased much over the years. While the Church has attracted new members, others have emigrated. The Jehovah's Witnesses have been registered in Uzbekistan since 1994, but they currently only have one registered congregation remaining, in Chirchik, with about 400 members. MEETING WITH RELIGIOUS SCHOLAR BAKHTIYOR BABADJANOV -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Afterwards, Hanford met for lunch with Uzbek historian and religious scholar Bakhtiyor Babadjanov, who generally defended the government's record on religious freedom. While Babadjanov said he understood the international community's criticism of the government's record, nevertheless, he believed that the government's religion policy was correctly aimed at preserving harmony between different religious groups and fighting religious extremism. According to Babadjanov, "no former or current Mufti would ever shake the (Orthodox) Metropolitan's hand" without the government pressuring him to do so. He also favorably compared Uzbekistan with its neighbors, noting that the largest mosque in Kyrgyzstan in Osh held only about 12,000 worshipers, while the new Hazrati Imam Mosque in Tashkent held 48,000 worshipers (Note: Perhaps drawing off the same talking points, Foreign Minister Norov also favorably compared the Hazrati Imam mosque with a Turkmen mosque during a meeting with Hanford the previous day, ref B. End note.) Babadjanov admitted that religious freedom was greater in Kazakhstan, but he argued this was because Kazakhstan was "largely a secular society" where religious extremism was less of a threat than in Uzbekistan. ¶9. (C) Babadjanov admitted some shortcomings in the government's religion policy, observing that some Muslims were unfairly targeted for persecution. By way of example, he reported serving as a public defender for a colleague at the Oriental Institute in Tashkent who was accused of religious extremism. Babadjanov said his friend was released from custody, but only after he was held for thirty days and had falsely confessed to translating two pamphlets for Tabligh Jamoat, a banned organization in Uzbekistan. In another case, Babadjanov noted that a friend was accused of possessing illegal literature, when in fact the material was legally imported into Uzbekistan. He also stated that some inmates had been radicalized in Uzbek prisons, and that this was a continuing threat. Babajanov argued that the government's restrictions on religion were a response to genuine extremist threats to Uzbekistan's religious harmony. For example, he told of witnessing several instances in which religiously-inspired crowds had threatened religious minorities: a hostile crowd of demonstrators at a Samarkand synagogue in 1992, and another crowd in Samarkand in 1995 ready to attack local Shiites, and blamed prominent "Wahhabi" imams such as Abdu Qori for "very aggressive sermons." ¶10. (C) Babadjanov shared with Hanford several suggestions on how the government could improve religious freedom and human rights in Uzbekistan. He argued that the government should reopen a commission on religious prisoners that operated approximately from 2003 to 2006 under the direction of former State Advisor for Religious Affairs Husnitdinov. According to Babadjanov, the commission's work led to the release of more than 1,200 individuals convicted on religious extremism charges. The commission also reportedly worked with Mahallas (neighborhood committees) to ensure that the individuals were subsequently reintegrated back into Uzbek society. Babadjanov was unsure why the commission ceased to function, but believed it was connected to Husnitdinov's dismissal in 2006. Furthermore, Babadjanov argued that the Ministry of Justice should have oversight over the Ministry of Interior. He also believed that Ministry of Interior officers were poorly trained and could benefit from additional human rights training. ¶11. (C) Babadjanov was fiercely critical of former Mufti Mohammad Sodiq, who remains a figure of considerable influence for many Muslims in Uzbekistan. Babadjanov said that while Sodiq was "not an extremist," he characterized his views as "anti-infidel." He argued that Sodiq was essentially "two-faced," presenting himself as a moderate to Western audiences, while at the same time expressing intolerant views of other religions to Muslim audiences. In contrast, Babadjanov had much kinder words for current State Advisor for Interethnic and Religious Affairs Bahrom Abduhalim, whom Hanford met with on May 29 (ref B). Babadjanov characterized Abduhalim as open-minded and progressive, noting that at one point Abduhalim pushed for the registration of several mosques that had been denied registration in previous years. ¶12. (C) Babadjanov recently appeared in an Uzbek television documentary shown on Uzbek television (ref A) which accused several Christian denominations - including Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists - of conducting unspecified "illegal missionary activities" which it described as a "global problem along with religious dogmatism, fundamentalism, terrorism and drug addiction." Babadjanov is quoted in the documentary as stating that most missionary activities are funded from outside Uzbekistan, and that "missionary activities have become...a tool...for exerting political influence, advancing one's own interests, no matter whether it is economic or political." When asked about his participation in the documentary, Babadjanov defended his remarks, though he also said he was unaware of the documentary's intent when he was interviewed and had no hand in its production. He also dismissed the documentary as government propaganda. ¶13. (C) Throughout the meeting with Hanford, Babadjanov was strongly critical of Christian groups he believed were engaged in proselytizing (which is illegal under Uzbek law). He claimed that more than 140 "missionary organizations" were active in Uzbekistan, including 34 South Korean groups affiliated with the Reverend Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church. Babadjanov contended that "Uzbekistan is not Switzerland" and that Uzbeks do not tolerate the presence of missionaries in their country, which he believed had the potential to cause social unrest. As a case in point, Babadjanov accused an unspecified "Dutch missionary group" of spreading leaflets in Karakalpakstan attacking Mohammad as a false prophet. ¶14. (C) Comment: Babadjanov, who will conduct research next year at Indiana University on a Fulbright Scholarship, is a respected and legitimate scholar, who nonetheless seems to know what is required of him to stay within the government's good graces. We believe the government is using him in an attempt to discredit former Mufti Mohammad Sodiq, who remains one of the most influential non-governmental figures in Uzbekistan, in the eyes of the Western observers. Some of Babadjanov's comments mirror those made in a recent article on Sodiq by a prominent AmCit political scientist, who is known to closely collaborate with Babadjanov (ref D). Likewise, it is difficult to tell whether Babadjanov's comments about Christian groups reflect his true feelings or those of the government. End comment. MEETING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DIRECTOR -------------- ¶15. (C) After his meeting with Babadjanov, Hanford met together with the Ambassador and Human Rights Watch (HRW) country director Igor Vorontsov, whose application for accreditation was denied by the Ministry of Justice in a letter dated May 8 (ref E). Vorontsov said that if the Uzbek government did not reverse its decision on his accreditation, HRW was likely to close its office in Tashkent. In 2007, the government previously denied accreditation to two other HRW expatriate staff members, resulting in the de facto closure of HRW's office for more than six months. ¶16. (C) Referring to HRW's last report on prison conditions from November 2007, Vorontsov noted that the use of torture in Uzbekistan's law enforcement system was still routine and systematic. He explained that while most individuals are tortured during pre-trial detention in order to elicit confessions, individuals sentenced on religious extremism charges often continue to experience mistreatment in prisons. He said that such prisoners are reportedly required to sign confessions and statements renouncing their religious beliefs several times a year, and that individuals who refuse to sign are often then subjected to torture. He also referred to one incident of collective punishment of more than one hundred religious prisoners which allegedly occurred in February at a prison in Qarshi (ref F). Vorontsov believed that the government's treatment of religious prisoners reflected its paranoia - since the government does not face a serious political opposition, it views religious Muslims as the greatest threat to its (largely secular) power. He also reported that prison guards seek to break religious prisoners by desecrating the Koran and committing other sacrilegious acts. Vorontsov noted hearing about "three or four" cases in the past year where law enforcement officials had been convicted of torturing individuals, but said they were given suspended sentences rather than jail time. ¶17. (C) Comment: Though Vorontsov is correct in observing that the government continues to persecute and mistreat religious Muslims, it appears to us that the number of such cases has actually declined in the past year. While it is always possible that fewer incidents are simply being reported (especially considering that HRW's Tashkent office was temporarily closed from July 2007 to February 2008),we do not believe that this is the case. HRW maintained a database of such incidents until its office was temporarily forced to close in July 2007. Its staff has told poloff that their principal source on religious cases is local activist Surat Ikramov, who has continued to report on such cases on his own website. Over the past year, Ikramov has reported on fewer cases of individuals being convicted of religious extremism than in previous years, which leads us to believe that the number of cases is declining. Open Dialogue Project director Mjusa Sever has also reported to poloff being told by government contacts (many of whom work for the Ministry of Interior and the National Security Service) that the government had quietly been removing officials who were directly involved in the government's campaign against religious Muslims (which was ratcheted up in the wake of the 2005 Andijon events) in recognition that the campaign had gone too far and was counterproductive. In addition, while abuse of religious prisoners certainly continues in some Uzbek prison, we have reliable reports that conditions are improving elsewhere, most likely spurred on by the government's decision to renew International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) prison visits in March, as well as by the ICRC's previous work in Uzbek prisons from 2001 and 2004. Local human rights contacts reported to poloff that conditions for religious inmates have improved at some prisons (refs F and G). End comment. EVENING RECEPTION WITH RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS AND IMAMS -------------- -------------- ¶18. (C) Hanford attended an evening reception hosted by the DCM with religious scholars and leaders who previously participated in a U.S. government exchange program administered by the University of Washington and the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). The exchange program was halted after the government forced the departure of IREX from Uzbekistan in 2005. Attendees included professors of the Tashkent Islamic University and Al-Beruni Tashkent Islamic Institute, an imam from Tashkent's Chopon-Ota mosque, and a professor at the National University of Uzbekistan who formerly administered the IREX program. The exchange participants spoke glowingly of their experiences in the United States, including what they learned about the practice of Islam in America and relations between American Muslims and adherents of other faiths. During the discussion, two of the religious scholars also spoke positively of the government committee on religious prisoners to which Babadjanov had earlier referred. They also questioned Ambassador Hanford about his trip's objectives. MEETING WITH OPEN DIALOGUE PROJECT DIRECTOR -------------- ¶19. (C) After the departure of Ambassador Hanford, DRL/IRF Team Leader Barbara Cates met with Open Dialogue Project director Mjusa Sever on June 2. Sever discussed steps the government had taken to address the recommendations from the UN Special Rapporteur's for Torture 2003 report, as well as what further steps were required of the government to combat torture (Note: By our count, the government has so far addressed 15 of the 22 recommendations. End note.) In addition, Sever noted that Regional Policy Foundation director Juraev, who collaborated with Sever to organize two international conferences in Tashkent this year on the habeas corpus law and Afghanistan, has expressed interest in organizing a conference in Tashkent with government officials and international experts on religion (Note: Juraev discussed holding a conference on religion with the Ambassador on May ¶15. End note.) According to Sever, a possible focus for the conference could be distinguishing between standard religious practice and religious extremism. In addition, she believed that the conference could incorporate an interfaith dialogue component, and that it would be possible to invite both Muslim and religious minority leaders. Sever wanted to organize the conference either late July or in October, and indicated that it could be planned around a possible return visit to Uzbekistan by Ambassador Hanford. She believed that at least 35 government officials would attend the conference, and said that the entire conference could be arranged with two weeks' notice. MEETING WITH BIBLE SOCIETY DIRECTOR -------------- ¶20. (C) Before the arrival of Ambassador Hanford in Uzbekistan, Cates also met on May 27 with Bible Society of Uzbekistan director Sergei Mitin. The Bible Society has been registered in Uzbekistan since 1994 and is responsible for importing and distributing Bibles and other literature for the country's various Christian denominations. Mitin told Cates that a large shipment of Christian literature - including almost 7,000 Children's Bibles in Uzbek and Karakalpak - was shipped by the Moscow Bible Society and arrived in Uzbekistan on May 17. As dictated by Uzbek law, the literature had been impounded by Uzbek Customs until the Religious Affairs Committee (RAC) determines whether the literature could be legally imported into Uzbekistan. Mitin noted that the RAC had been wary in the past of allowing the import of any Christian materials in Uzbek or Karakalpak, believing that they would be used for missionary activity, even though the import of such material was not forbidden by Uzbek law. Since 2006, the Bible Society has only been allowed to import 500 books into Uzbekistan (ref G). Mitin noted that the Bible Society was close to running out of certain works in any language, include the Gospels. ¶21. (C) Mitin later reported to poloff participating in a very tense June 10 meeting regarding the imported literature with RAC Chairman Ortik Yusupov, Deputy RAC Chairman Bekhzot Kadirov, and Ministry of Justice Department for Public Associations and Religious Organizations Head Jalol Abdusattarov. According to Mitin, the Uzbek officials accused the Bible Society of violating Uzbek law by importing the literature and that documents to this effect would be soon forwarded to the General Prosecutor's Office for further investigation. Mitin countered that the Bible Society's actions were completely within Uzbek law, but was ignored. Mitin fears that the government may now move to deregister the Bible Society. COMMENT -------------- ¶22. (C) The meetings for Ambassador Hanford with religious scholars, leaders, and human rights activists were useful in highlighting potential further steps we can take with the Uzbeks to improve religious freedom in Uzbekistan. We were especially intrigued with Babadjanov's idea to restart a government commission to review the cases of individuals sentenced to prison for religious extremism. While we would not want the government commission to become a means for the Uzbek government to pressure inmates into revoking their religious beliefs, we share the view of human rights organizations that individuals have been imprisoned over the years on false charges of religious extremism, and that many more were probably imprisoned after attending little more than introductory meetings of extremist cells. A government commission might be the best tool for releasing some of these individuals from prison. In order to ensure that its activities do not harm any prisoners, we may also recommend that any government commission include independent monitors, such as from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). We also agree with Sever that an international conference with government participation on religion could help the government address the issue of distinguishing between Islamic extremism and devout practice, and potentially soften GOU attitudes toward religious minorities. A possible starting point for discussion at the conference could be the Jordanian King's "Amman Initiative" on moderate Islam. In addition, we will continue to urge the Uzbek government to allow religious leaders and scholars to participate in U.S. government exchange programs, which we believe are effective tools for raising awareness about Muslim religious practice in the United States and for promoting understanding between different religious faiths. ¶23. (C) The meetings with the religious scholars and human rights activists were also useful for better understanding the current state of religious freedom in Uzbekistan for different religious communities. As the meeting with the Jehovah's Witness representative and the Bible Society director highlighted, religious freedom continues to be restricted for certain minorities, especially those who are viewed (rightly or wrongly) as seeking to attract Uzbek converts. On the other hand, we are encouraged to see that religious freedom appears to be slowly improving for the Muslim majority. BUTCHER