CSCE Digest, December 1996, p. 9

Throughout the year the Commission (CSCE) has received reports that minority religious groups are experiencing increased harassment, intimidation and imprisonment by Government of Uzbekistan authorities. A letter from Commission Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) and Co-Chairman Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) urging the Government of Uzbekistan to respect the religious liberty of minority religious groups was sent to President Islam Karimov on November 27.

The reports have indicated that Word of Faith, one of the largest Protestant Christian churches in Uzbekistan, has been unable to obtain legal status as a registered church, despite repeated attempts to comply with the registration laws. Those working closely with Word of Faith suspect that registration has been denied because Word of Faith distributes religious materials in the Uzbek language. In addition, the Commission has learned that Mr. Denis Podorozhny, an Uzbek citizen and the senior pastor of Word of Faith, was imprisoned recently in Tashkent, was denied both a hearing and a lawyer, and was held incommunicado for over a week.

Others report that Mission of Mercy, a nonprofit organization engaged in religious activities and humanitarian relief, also has been denied legal registration status. Organized in 1990, Mission of Mercy has developed close contacts with many other benevolent organizations and has conducted numerous joint projects with the Red Crescent Society, the Children's Fund, and the Invalid Society. Tens of thousands of people have reportedly received assistance through the mission. Ms. Olga Avetisova, Director of Mission of Mercy, has repeatedly sought an official explanation for the denial of registration, but has received no official response to date. Most recently, the Commission learned that Ms. Avetisova received death threats from Uzbek officials, apparently flagrant attempts to intimidate her into ceasing her humanitarian and religious activities.

In addition to reports of imprisonment and threats by Uzbek officials, leaders of minority religious groups are regularly contacted by the Uzbek security forces and alternately cajoled or threatened into becoming "consultants" or informers on their religious communities. Such attempts by the Uzbek Government to co-opt religious organizations are eerily reminiscent of the tactics used by Communist authorities during the Soviet period.

In the Helsinki Final Act and subsequent OSCE agreements, particularly in the Vienna Concluding Document §§ 16.3 and 16.4, the participating States commit to grant communities of believers official status within the state's constitutional framework and to respect the community's right to assembly and worship. Additionally, in § 16.6 of the Vienna Concluding Document, the participating States pledge to respect the right of everyone to give and receive religious education in the person's language of choice.

The denials of registration for Word of Faith and for Mission of Mercy, as well as the imprisonment, threats and harassment of Pastor Denis Podorozhny and Ms. Olga Avetisova, violate the commitments Uzbekistan has made under the Helsinki Accords. The CSCE will continue to monitor the situation of minority religious groups in Uzbekistan and call upon the Government of Uzbekistan to meet its obligations under international law.