RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS
|
Copyrighted material. For private use only. If you quote material, please credit the publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit this Web page for any print use of the material. If any electronic reproduction is made, please acknowledge the URL: http:www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/ |
|||
|
|
|
|
Information |
Report [excerpts]
Doc. 10568
3 June 2005
Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee)
Co-rapporteurs: Mr David Atkinson, United Kingdom, European Democrat
Group and Mr Rudolf Bindig, Germany, Socialist Group
I. Draft resolution
13.With regard to the rule of law and the protection of human rights, the Assembly urges the Russian authorities to take the following measures: . . .
v. with regard to the recently adopted law on alternative military service, revise it in order to change its disproportionate character and bring it in line with European practice;
vi. increase efforts to fight religiously, ethnically and racially motivated violence and discrimination, improve in particular the situation of those Meskhetian Turks wishing to stay in the Krasnodar region and investigate and punish all proven cases of harassment and discrimination;
vii. guarantee the exclusion of any legal, administrative and fiscal discrimination against so-called non-traditional confessions and bring the federal law on freedom of conscience and religious associations in line with Council of Europe standards; . . .
III. PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 2002
K. Freedom of conscience and religion
349. Besides being committed by virtue of the Statute of the Council of Europe to ensure enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms including freedom of conscience and religion (Article 9 of the ECHR), the Russian Federation also assumed the following commitments: a) to introduce new laws in line with the Council of Europe standards: on freedom of religion; b) to return without delay the property of religious institutions.
350. The liberal legislation on freedom of religion, adopted in the beginning of the 90's, promoted broad plurality of confessions and religious organisations throughout the Federation195. However, the 1997 Federal Law on freedom of conscience and religious associations bears signs of unequal treatment of the various confessions by recognising "the special role of Orthodoxy in the history of Russia", by "respecting Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and other religions, constituting an integral part of the historical heritage of the peoples of Russia"196. Being included in the Preamble of the Law and having no direct binding force, these provisions, nevertheless, inspire a discrimination of those confessions that are not mentioned. Hence, federal and regional authorities seem to offer a preferential treatment to the Russian Orthodox Church. We heard allegations that minority religious communities must secure permission from the local Orthodox Church before being allowed to build a house of worship or that local authorities seek the advice of the Orthodox Church before dealing with such religious groups.
351. We were distressed to hear during our fact-finding missions reports about numerous cases of religiously motivated violence physical violence, intimidation, other forms of attacks against the representatives of "non-traditional" confessions and their places of worship197. In most cases the local and regional authorities turned a blind eye to these attacks and did not prosecute their authors.
352. Foreign religious leaders and missionaries have experienced difficulty gaining entry visas or maintaining residence in Russia198. Since the beginning of 2002, a Catholic Bishop and several priests have been expelled from Russia, including those who had lived in Russia for years. In addition to the denials or revocations of visas for Catholic priests, there were reportedly numerous other cases in which foreign religious workers were denied visas to enter or re-enter the country, including members of the Protestant Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim faiths. In the Krasnodar and Kaliningrad regions priest and nuns can obtain only 3 month visas. In late 2003, a court in Tatarstan denied a new residence permit to a Baptist missionary on the basis of the assessment of local security officials that his activities were "extremist". The Buddhist community of Kalmykia for several years has been appealing to the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry to reverse previous visa denials and allow its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to visit Russia. We welcome the fact that the Dalai Lama was allowed in November 2004 to visit Kalmykiya.
353. A July 2002 Law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation", which transferred much of the responsibility for visa affairs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Interior, appears to have disrupted the visa regime for religious and other foreign workers, contributing to the sharp decrease in the issuance of long-term visas and causing hardship for many groups. The FSB has asserted itself into matters dealing with visas and religion, particularly where groups it views as "dangerous cults and sects" are concerned. For example, an FSB official who acted as the official representative of the country at the meeting on 16 June 2004 of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the Relationship between Racist, Xenophobic, and anti-Semitic Propaganda on the Internet and Hate Crimes presented an official statement that labelled members of Jehovah's Witnesses and Hare Krishna's as examples of xenophobic cults that propagated "fanatical devotion and rejection of other religions" on their Web sites199.
354. During 2004 mass media reported numerous cases of illegal personal data collecting by regional departments of the Ministry of Justice. For instance, in Chelyabinsk, Samara, and Yaroslavl the Justice Departments sent a questionnaire to religious organisations which included a requirement to attach a list of parishioners. Such practice existed during Soviet rule when churches, mosques, and synagogues had to present personal information about parishioners to the responsible agencies but disappeared with the breakdown of the USSR. The practice of collecting personal data of the parishioners in regions of Russia should be stopped; the central department of the Ministry of Justice should advise its regional offices on the inadmissibility of such requirements.
355. Another frequently cited major problem with enjoyment of freedom of religion is the allocation of land for the construction of places of worship for some religious communities. This especially concerns minority confessions, in particular Jehovah's Witnesses, which encountered problems in Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Dalnegorsk, Adler, and St. Petersburg. Another case of difficulties in obtaining a plot of land was reported by a Jewish community in Yekaterinburg. They claimed that the previously allocated site was later taken away for the construction of the presidential envoy's residence (during our meeting with the presidential envoy, Mr Latyshev neither confirmed nor disputed the allegations).
356. We are alarmed by the recent trend of segregation of religious organisations into traditional and non-traditional groups. Recognising the fact that the federal authorities are trying to secure the unhindered realisation of the freedom of religion, we have to state that regional and local bodies in many cases are reluctant to protect the rights of religious communities and fail to address properly the cases of freedom of religion violations.
357. At the same time, the State Duma hasn't supported so far the initiatives to formally grant special status to the so-called traditional religious organisations200, notwithstanding the 26 March 2004 Presidential statement in favour of drafting a bill on state support "to the spiritual leaders of traditional religious confessions," the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
The Salvation Army and Jehovah's Witnesses cases
358. In its Resolution 1277 (2002), the Assembly regretted the problems of the Salvation Army201 and Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow, but welcomed the decision of the Russian authorities to ensure that the problem of local discrimination and harassment of these religious communities be brought to an end. However, we have to report that to date both organisations continue to face legal and/or practical obstacles in conducting their activities in some regions of the Federation.
359. In February 2003, the Taganskiy District Court of Moscow quashed its own September 2001 decision ordering liquidation of the Moscow branch of the Salvation Army following a ruling by the Constitutional Court of 7 February 2002202. As the ruling of the Constitutional Court concerned only the liquidation procedure, the decisions on refusal to re-register taken in 2000 remain in force. The Moscow branch of the Salvation Army is to date de facto deprived of its legal status, since the time limit for re-registration has expired.
360. The Moscow branch of the Salvation Army has lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights on 18 May 2001, which was declared admissible in June 2004203. In its application, the Moscow branch of the Salvation Army complained under Articles 9 and 11 of the Convention that the refusal to grant legal entity status severely curtails its ability to manifest its religion in worship and practice. The applicant submits that the classification of the Salvation Army as a paramilitary organisation and the assumption that its members would inevitably break Russian law are not founded on any factual proof and represent an impermissible judgement about the legitimacy of the applicant's religion.
361. Jehovah's Witnesses. On 26 March 2004, the Golovinskiy District Court of Moscow passed a ruling banning activity of Jehovah's Witnesses organisation in the Russian capital under a provision of the 1997 Law that allows courts to ban religious groups believed to incite hatred or intolerant behaviour204. This was confirmed on appeal by the Moscow City Court on 16 June 2004. Notwithstanding the fact that the national office of the organisation was registered before, Moscow courts have found the community guilty of forcing families to disintegrate, infringing rights and freedoms of the citizen, encouraging suicide or the refusal on religious grounds of medical aid to the critically ill, and inciting citizens to refuse to fulfil their civil obligations established by law. The Jehovah's Witnesses became the first national religious organisation to have a local branch banned under the 1997 law. The organisation lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights the examination of which is pending.
362. Many local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the country reported that the rental contracts on their buildings were either being cancelled or that they faced that risk by landlords. Members of Jehovah's Witnesses reported an increase in these denials after court decisions to ban all religious activity by the group in Moscow, first on 26 March and then on 16 June, were publicised. Some landlords misunderstood the ruling and believed they were compelled by law to cancel rental contracts with the group. In Sochi, in June, members of Jehovah's Witnesses were denied access to a meeting venue after the FSB pressured the landlord; the decision to deny access was later reversed and the meeting took place.
363. We've been also disappointed to learn that this organisation is being prosecuted not only in Moscow city but also in some other regions we visited, in particular in Yekaterinburg where the congress of Jehovah's Witnesses was disrupted last summer by representatives of the local authorities. The Jehovah's Witnesses' local conventions have been also disrupted in Moscow, Vladimir, Khabarovsk, Stavropol Kray, Nizhniy Novgorod, Pyatigorsk, Sochi, and Chelyabinsk205.
364. We call on the Russian authorities of all levels to ensure equal treatment for all faiths under the law. We refer to the Assembly's recommendation to the Russian authorities expressed in Resolution 1278 (2002)206 that the law on religion be more uniformly applied throughout the Russian Federation, ending unjustified regional and local discrimination against certain religious communities and local officials' preferential treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church, and in particular their insisting in certain districts that religious organisations obtain prior agreement for their activities from the Russian Orthodox Church.
Legal framework on freedom of conscience and religious associations
365. One of the Russian Federation's commitments was to introduce new laws in line with Council of Europe standards, in particular on freedom of religion (Opinion No. 193 (1996), 7.v.). The Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" entered into force on 1 October 1997 replacing a 1990 law on the same subject. This new legislation has been criticised both at home and abroad on the grounds that it disregards the principle of equality of religions. The Law's preamble specially mentions Orthodoxy, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. In practice administrative bodies and the courts, interpreting the act as a whole from the point of view of its preamble, quite often treat the "non-traditional religious organisations" as "totalitarian sects"207.
366. The law then goes on to draw a distinction between "religious organisations", according to whether or not they existed before 1982, and a third category, called "religious groups". Religious organisations that existed for less than fifteen years, and religious groups are subject to legal and tax disadvantages and their activities are restricted208.
367. The intent appears to have been to discriminate against members of foreign and less well-known religions by making it difficult for them to establish religious organisations. For example, many officials in law enforcement bodies and the legislative branches speak of the need to protect the "spiritual security" of the country by discouraging the growth of "sects" and "cults," usually understood to include Protestant and newer religious movements. The 1997 law is very complex, with many ambiguous provisions; and it creates various categories of religious communities with differing levels of legal status and privileges. Most significantly, the law distinguishes between religious "groups" and "organisations." A religious "group" is not registered and consequently does not have the legal status of a legal person; it may not open a bank account, own property, issue invitations to foreign guests, publish literature, or conduct worship services in prisons and state-owned hospitals and among the armed forces. It does not enjoy tax benefits or the right to proselytise. Individual members of the group may buy property for the group's use, invite personal guests to engage in religious instruction, and import religious material. In this way, groups theoretically are permitted to rent public spaces and hold services; however, in practice members of unregistered groups sometimes encounter significant difficulty in exercising these rights.
368. The 1997 law provides that a group that has existed for 15 years and has at least ten Russian members may register as a "local religious organisation." It acquires the status of a legal entity and receives certain legal advantages. "Centralised" religious organisation can be formed only from no fewer than three local religious organisations of the same confession. Thus, the 1997 law provides for a very complicated procedure to establish a new non-local religious organisation which can operate on more than one "territory" (the law also doesn't define clearly the administrative entities included in such "local territory"). Taking into account the significant discrepancy in rights attached to religious groups and organisations, this provision can be viewed as discriminating against minority or new beliefs.
369. Moreover, to be allowed to include in its name words "Russia", "Russian", and their derivatives the centralised religious organisation's structures have to operate on the territory of the Russian Federation on a legal basis for a period of no fewer than fifty years at the time of the application to the registration agency for state registration.
370. Some of these concerns have been addressed, notably through the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of 23 November 1999, 13 April 2000, and 7 February 2002. Although the Court has already restricted the application of the so-called "fifteen-year rule", which initially severely limited the rights of religious groups that could not prove their existence on Russian territory for at least fifteen years before the new law entered into force, the total abolition of this rule would be considered as an important improvement of the legislative basis209.
371. Although the Law provides that foreign citizens and persons without citizenship who legally reside on the territory of the Russian Federation enjoy the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religious profession on a equal basis with citizens of the Russian Federation (Article 3), it also stipulates that only citizens and other persons "permanently and legally residing on the territory of the Russian federation" can associate into a religious organisations (be founders or members of such organisations). This provision can be viewed as contradictory to Article 28 of the Russian Constitution and Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights since the Russian legislation provides for special procedure for obtaining permanent residence.
372. The Russian Federation Ombudsman in his Special Report "On Implementation by Russia of its Obligations Undertaken When Joining the Council of Europe" released in May 2002, also noted that Article 3 (2) of the Law provided for the possibility of restricting freedom of religion if necessary to protect state security, whereas Article 9 of the ECHR contains no such restriction.
373. A Law "On Counteracting Extremist Activities" was adopted in July 2002 with the goal of reducing religious and ethnic intolerance and limiting the activities of ultra-right-wing organisations. The legislation prohibits advocating in public speech the superiority of any group based on religion, race, nationality, language, or other attributes. Critics charged that the legislation could prompt a dangerous expansion of police power and that the Government had already demonstrated a lack of political will in implementing existing legislation210. Some observers expressed particular concern about the effect of the legislation on religious freedom. In 2003, authorities in Samara subsequently made use of the anti-extremism legislation to cancel the registration of a Buddhist community and the Church of the Last Covenant, and to refuse registration to communities of Scientologists and the Unification Church. At the same time, in the vast majority of crimes targeting Jewish organisations and property, officials generally ignore the anti-Semitic motivation of the crimes and prosecute criminals under the much more lenient charge of "hooliganism".
374. Therefore, we urge the Russian authorities to revise the 1997 Law on freedom of conscience and religious associations, in particular, in order to eliminate the discriminatory provisions hindering registration of new religious organisations; simplify the registration procedures; grant more rights to unregistered religious groups; bring other provisions of the law into line with the Russian Constitution and European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as interpreted in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
375. Russia also undertook to return without delay the property of religious institutions (Opinion No. 193 (1996), 10.xiii.). We note that the restitution of religious property seized by the Soviet government remains an issue. Most properties used for religious services, including churches, synagogues, and mosques, have been returned. But, for instance, the Jewish community is still seeking the return of a number of synagogues, religious scrolls, and cultural and religious artefacts. In Kazan, the former cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church has not been returned because it's now a laboratory of an aviation institute.
376. The Russian Orthodox Church appears to have had greater success reclaiming pre-revolutionary property than other groups, although it still has disputed property despite its preferential treatment. The St. Petersburg Russian Orthodox Old Believers' Community has not been able to get its church returned, which was confiscated by Soviet authorities in 1922. Roman Catholics continue to pursue legal avenues towards restoration of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Cathedral in Moscow. The office of an oil company currently occupies the cathedral, and the Catholic parish is meeting in a former disco hall because it does not expect the company to vacate the premises.
377. In this regard, we welcome the adoption by the Russian parliament of the law211 granting the religious organisations a free of charge right of ownership on the plots of state or municipal land occupied by the religious constructions (if the relevant construction is owned by the organisation) or gratuitous long-term possession. We hope that this law will be implemented without any discrimination to the different religious organisations and will relieve them from the need to pay for or purchase land on which their buildings are already located.
378. Therefore, we urge the Russian authorities to solve remaining problems with the return of property to the religious institutions without further delay.
L. Alternative military service
379. Another commitment of the Russian Federation was to adopt a law on alternative military service, as foreseen in Article 59 of the constitution (Opinion No. 193 (1996), 10.xviii.). This law was adopted in July 2002 and took effect on 1 January 2004. Two supplements to the law were issued in March 2004 the first one listed 722 organisations to which draftees may be assigned for alternative service, and the second listed 283 activities that draftees were permitted to perform. In May 2004 the Russian Government approved the by-laws regarding the implementation of the law on alternative civilian service performance. In July 2003 the President adopted a decree defining the special state bodies authorised to organise alternative civil service Ministry of Labour and Social Development (in March 2004 this function was transferred to the Federal Service of Labour and Employment) and Ministry of Defence.
380. The Law is often criticised for a number of its provisions. The term of alternative civil service is 1.75 times longer than the regular military service (42 months or 21 months for university graduates). But if served in the "organisations of the Armed Forces" the term of service is cut down to that of 1.5 times of the ordinary military service; conscripts who opt for alternative service have to absolve it outside the territory of the Russian Federation subject where they currently reside, thus loosening their family and social ties.
381. We consider that the new law is not compatible with European standards and can't be regarded as an effective one. Unfortunately, the new law reflects in most of its provisions the position of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, which formally took the stand of supporting the introduction of alternative civil service, while in fact setting obstacles in its way212.
382. Thus the Law in practice denies the right of alternative service to the majority of young men willing to choose it. Alternative military service as provided by the Law serves as a punishment for those who choose to exercise their religious or moral convictions213. That is why the law is prohibitive and mostly ineffective - only a small number of those drafted opted for alternative service during 2004 (not more than 1%)214.
383. In our view, it is also unusual that those who choose alternative civil service are often required to perform their 3 and a half years working in industry or other economic units. The aim of alternative civil service should not be to provide companies, even public ones, with cheap workforces but to give those opposed to military service the possibility to serve society as a whole, through work carried out in the non-profit public sector, for example in hospitals, schools, retirement homes and the like.
384. In this regard, we should notice that Russia's commitment concerning
the law on alternative civil service was not fulfilled as it implies not
only the mere adoption of a law but also its compliance and implementation
in line with European standards. A law which de-facto hinders and discourages
those who refuse to bear arms for religious or other reasons of conscience
from choosing non-military service cannot be considered as satisfactory.
Thus we urge Russian authorities to revise the law in line with applicable
European standards.
NOTES
195 According to the Ministry of Justice (1 May 2004), 21674 religious
organisations and representations of foreign religious organisations from
more than 63 different confessions were registered in the Russian Federation.
196 The Russian Constitution proclaims that the Russian Federation
shall be a secular state, and that no religion shall be established as
a state or compulsory one. Religious associations shall be separated from
the state and shall be equal before the law (Article 14). Every person
shall be guaranteed the right to freedom of conscience, freedom of religion,
including the right to profess, either alone or in community with others,
any or no religion, to freely choose, have and disseminate religious or
other convictions and to act according to them (Article 28).
197 Among them: violent disruption of the gathering by the law enforcement
bodies and the burning down of the house of the Evangelical Christian Baptists
in the town of Lyubuchany, Moscow region, in August and September 2004;
numerous attacks on the church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists "Arch"
in the town of Balashikha, Moscow region; arsons of the Pentecostal churches
in Podolsk, Chekhovo, Tula, Lipetsk, Tyumen, Nizhny Tagil; on the eve of
a national conference in January 2004, the "Initiative" Baptist church
in Tula was bombed; attack on Hare Krishna church in Rostov-upon-Don. Jewish
religious buildings have been subjected to vandalism and arson (attacks
on synagogues in Kostroma, Chelyabinsk, Moscow, Vladivostok, and Kaliningrad
were reported). Annual Report of the US Commission on International Religious
Freedom, May 2004, http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/publications/currentreport/index.html.
198 Problems with obtaining temporary residence permits were for example
reported in the Krasnodar region and the Republic of Tatarstan.
199 International Religious Freedom Report 2004, released by the Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour of the US Department of State, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35480.htm
200 The last relevant draft law was submitted in April 2004.
201 In August 1992, the Salvation Army was created and registered as
a religious organisation having legal entity status. In 1999, it was refused
re-registration as required by the 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and
Religious Associations. In July 2000, the Presnenskiy District Court of
Moscow upheld the refusal by the Moscow Justice Department of the Moscow
branch of the Salvation Army re-registration. In the Presnenskiy court's
ruling, the Salvation Army was referred to as a "paramilitary organisation."
In November 2000, the Moscow City Court upheld the judgement of 5 July
2000. In September 2001, the Taganskiy District Court issued a decision
ordering liquidation of the Moscow branch of the Salvation Army upon the
request from the Ministry of Justice which is required to seek the liquidation
of groups failing to re-register according to the 1997 Law. The Moscow
City Court upheld the decision in December 2001.
202 The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation held that re-registration
of a religious organisation could not be made conditional on the fulfilment
of requirements that were introduced by the 1997 Law and had not legally
existed at the time of the founding of the organisation. A court could
only decide on liquidation of an organisation that failed to bring its
documents in compliance with the Law, if it was duly established that the
organisation had ceased its functioning or engaged in unlawful activities.
The Court also emphasised that a court decision on liquidation of an organisation
that failed to obtain re-registration was to be reasoned beyond a reference
to such formal indications for liquidation as the failure to re-register
or the failure to provide information on its continuing functioning. The
Court finally held that the branch's case was to be reheard in the part
differing from the interpretation of the Law given by the Constitutional
Court.
203 Moscow branch of the Salvation Army v. Russia, Application No.
72881/01.
204 Proceedings were first launched to ban the Jehovah's Witnesses
in Moscow in 1998. The Prokuratura of Moscow's Northern Circuit banned
the local organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that it was
a threat to society, a basis for banning a religious organisation under
the 1997 law. Unlike liquidation, which involves "only" the loss of legal
status, a ban prohibits the activities of an entire religious community.
In 2001, a Moscow court ruled against the ban, but a higher court subsequently
ordered a new hearing in the case and the second trial began in November
2002. The prosecution offered testimony from religious experts describing
the Jehovah's Witnesses as "a totalitarian sect" that "tries to control
people's consciousness."
205 In September 2004 the European Court of Human Rights declared admissible,
without prejudging the merits, the 102 applicants' complaint about a disruption
of Jehovah's Witnesses religious meeting and unfair hearing on their complaint
in the town of Chelyabinsk in March 2000: see Kuznetsov and others v. Russia,
Application No. 184/02.
206 Assembly's Resolution 1278 (2002), Russia's law on religion, adopted
on 23 April 2002, paragraph 6. Doc. 9393, report of the Committee on Legal
Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr McNamara.
207 Special Report of the Russian Federation Ombudsman "On Implementation
by Russia of its Obligations Undertaken When Joining the Council of Europe",
20 May 2002, http://www.ombudsmanrf.ru/doc/spdoc/0102.shtml.
208 Report by the Assembly's Monitoring Committee on the honouring
of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation (Doc. 9396 (2002).
209 Assembly's Resolution 1278 (2002), paragraph 2.
210 Such as Article 282 of the Criminal Code which deals with incitement
to national, racial, or religious hatred.
211 Federal Law No.123-FZ "On Insertion of the Amendments to the Land
Code of the Russian Federation, Federal Law "On Implementation of the Land
Code", and Federal Law "On Return of Agricultural Lands", signed by the
President on 3 October 2004.
212 Special Report of the Russian Federation Ombudsman "On Implementation
by Russia of its Obligations Undertaken When Joining the Council of Europe",
May 20, 2002, http://www.ombudsmanrf.ru/doc/spdoc/0102.shtml.
213 This is also confirmed in the Concluding observations of the United
Nations Human Rights Committee (6 November 2003, CCPR/CO/79/RUS) which
was "concerned that the Alternative Civilian Service Act appears to be
punitive in nature by prescribing civil service of a length 1.7 times that
of normal military service". Furthermore, "the law does not appear to guarantee
that the tasks to be performed by conscientious objectors are compatible
with their convictions."
214 From 176,393 people called up according to the presidential decree
for autumn 2004 conscription only 1,530 young people (0.8%) applied for
alternative service. Moreover, almost 500 of them failed to convince conscription
commissions that they had chosen alternative service for their beliefs.
In the Moscow region, only 5 young men had applied by October 2004.
Russia
Religion News Current News Items
If material is quoted, please give credit to the publication from
which it came.
It is not necessary to credit this Web page. If material is transmitted
electronically, please include reference to the URL, http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.