#TURKMENISTAN: Second conscientious objector sentenced to corrective labour

A second Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector is serving a corrective labour sentence, where the state takes a fifth of his wages. On 27 January, a Dashoguz Region court sentenced 20-year-old Agabek Rozbayew to 18 months' corrective labour. The indictment shows he informed the Military Conscription Office in September 2022 that he could not perform compulsory military service on grounds of conscience. More than 10 others appear to be under criminal investigation. An assistant to regime-appointed Ombudsperson Yazdursun Gurbannazarowa told Forum 18: "I have never heard of such kinds of problems." Muslim prisoner of conscience Myratdurdy Shamyradow is paralysed in prison hospital.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2958

#UZBEKISTAN: Torturers' impunity "is mockery not justice"

Officials of Bukhara Region Prison No. 1 repeatedly tortured Muslim prisoner of conscience Tulkun Astanov. Prison officer Davr Sottiyev severely beat him and pledged to "give Astanov an injection which will soon kill him", a local Muslim told Forum 18. Despite complaints, the regime has taken no action against the suspect torturers. In January 2025 the Prison Governor called relatives with an implied threat of punishment if they lodge complaints. The Interior Ministry's Chief Directorate for the Enforcement of Punishments, General Prosecutor's Office, and Ombudsperson's Office refused to answer Forum 18's questions.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2959

#UZBEKISTAN: Prisoner of conscience facing extra third jail term?

A court jailed prisoner of conscience Fariduddin Abduvokhidov for 11 years in 2020 for discussing Islam with others, and another court added an extra 10 years in 2023. Now the 30-year-old is on trial for a third time accused of distributing "religious extremist" material and leading a "religious extremist" organisation while in prison. Judge Bahodir Alikulov of Navoi City Court refused to say why Abduvokhidov is being prosecuted for the same "crimes" now in prison. "I cannot share the details of the trial with you based on our Procedural Code," he insisted.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2960

#KYRGYZSTAN: Religious freedom survey, February 2025

Freedom of religion and belief and interlinked human rights are under increasing threat in Kyrgyzstan. Forum 18's survey analysis documents: a 2025 Religion Law which among many other violations continues to ban exercise of freedom of religion or belief without state permission and denies communities without 500 adults from being allowed to exist; arbitrary refusals to grant registration to communities seeking state permission to exist; jailing and fining critics of the regime's freedom of religion or belief violations; and failures to bring the perpetrators of violent attacks to justice.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2961

OCCUPIED #UKRAINE: Orthodox priest illegally transferred to Russian labour camp

Fr Kostiantyn Maksimov – who served a Ukrainian Orthodox parish in Tokmak in Russian-occupied Ukraine – arrived on 11 February at a strict regime labour camp in Russia's Saratov Region. Occupation forces seized him in May 2023. In November 2024 a closed hearing in absentia in Moscow rejected his appeal against his 14-year sentence on "espionage" charges. The Russian-installed Crimean Ombudsperson's Office refused to explain why Russian authorities illegally transfer prisoners from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine – like Fr Kostiantyn and Jehovah's Witness prisoners of conscience - to prisons in Russia.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2962

OCCUPIED #UKRAINE: Religious freedom survey, March 2025

Freedom of religion or belief and interlinked human rights are seriously violated in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Forum 18's survey analysis documents among other violations: serious systemic freedom of religion or belief violations starting with the initial March 2014 invasion; pressuring, kidnapping, torturing, jailing, and murdering religious leaders; stopping meetings for worship, banning and closing religious communities; jailing prisoners of conscience for exercising freedom of religion or belief; banning religious texts and purging libraries; and "anti-missionary" prosecutions. Until Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory is ended, the freedom of religion or belief and other human rights violations seem set to continue.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2963

#UKRAINE: Conscientious objectors prosecuted, jailed as "disobedient" soldiers

Officials took Baptist Serhy Semchuk to prison in Lviv in January for his 5-year jail sentence. The Recruitment Office had told him he could serve in the military without weapons. However, later a criminal case was launched when he refused to take up weapons. "We're in such shock," a church member says. "He doesn't want to kill." Conscientious objectors to mobilisation who were not in the military also increasingly face prosecution on "disobedience" charges, including 6 Jehovah's Witnesses on trial. Many Protestant and Jehovah's Witness conscientious objectors are on trial for refusing mobilisation.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2964

#UZBEKISTAN: Parents face punishment for their children's religious education

On 21 February, a new law came into force introducing fines of over one month's average wages or up to 15 days in jail for parents who allow their children to receive "illegal" religious education before the age of 18. Existing laws target those who teach religion to under-18s, not parents. Many Muslims expressed concern about the law before it was adopted. An official at the regime-appointed Ombudsperson's Office refused to put Forum 18 through to her, adding: "unfortunately we cannot give any information since it is all confidential".

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2965

#UZBEKISTAN: Ramadan ban on children at mosques, fasting by National Guard officers

Police have expelled children from mosques in Tashkent, Fergana and elsewhere or prevented them from entering during Tarawih night prayers since the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began in late February. "Police officers caught children present during the prayer, and drove them out, scolding and threatening them with punishment," one Muslim complained. "These children are under 18 and under the Law are not allowed to participate in religious activity," insisted Abdurahim Kadyrov of the Religious Affairs Committee. National Guard officers had to sign a pledge not to fast during Ramadan.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2966

#TAJIKISTAN: Authorities obstruct Ismaili commemoration of Aga Khan's death

Ismaili Shia Muslims gathered at the Ismaili Centre in Khorugh in Mountainous Badakhshan on 5 February to mourn the death of their spiritual leader, the Aga Khan IV. NSC secret police officers and other officials removed loudspeakers for those unable to get in for lack of space, warning those who protested. Electricity to the Ismaili Centre in Dushanbe was cut off on 11 February at the moment the homage ceremony for the Aga Khan V began. The regime is taking steps to isolate Ismailis from the worldwide community.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2967

#RUSSIA: Second jail term for discussing faith during first term

Jehovah's Witness Dmitry Terebilov was due for release from his 3-year prison term in September 2024. But he was already being prosecuted for answering a fellow-prisoner's questions about his faith. Using covert recordings, a court in Kostroma jailed him for just over five years for "continuing the activities of a banned extremist organisation". "I cannot understand what evil I have committed and to whom," Terebilov told the court. Neither the court nor the Prosecutor's Office responded to questions. A Vladivostok court jailed two Jehovah's Witness men and handed five women suspended sentences.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2968

#KAZAKHSTAN: 15-month criminal investigation of anti-war priest

Orthodox priest Yakov (Vorontsov) faced difficulties with his diocese after criticising Russia's war against Ukraine in March 2022. After an "emotional" August 2023 Facebook post saying the Russian Orthodox Church "has long had nothing in common with Christianity", police summoned him after an anonymous denunciation and call for him to be prosecuted for inciting religious and ethnic hatred (with a maximum 7-year prison sentence if convicted). Police Investigator Samat Atakhan opened an investigation in December 2023 and – despite one "expert analysis" clearing Fr Yakov – commissioned another and has not closed the case.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2969

OCCUPIED #UKRAINE: Russian FSB raids, court cases, fines, deportation threats

On 2 March, officers of the Russian FSB security service and Luhansk Regional Police's Anti-Extremism Centre raided the Sunday worship meeting of a Baptist congregation in Stakhanov in Russian-occupied Luhansk Region. On 10 April, a court acquitted the church's pastor. This was the latest raid on religious communities in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Officers particularly target religious communities that do not have registration under Russian law. They seize religious literature, photograph those present and hand material to Prosecutor's Offices for religious leaders to be prosecuted.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2970

#RUSSIA: Criminal trial of anti-war believer begins, another continues, third awaited

On 14 April, a military court began the trial of Christian preacher Eduard Charov on criminal charges of repeat "discreditation" of the Armed Forces and "public justification of terrorism". He is accused over social media posts criticising Russia's war against Ukraine. The trial of Zen Buddhist leader Ilya Vasilyev – arrested in June 2024 - continues in Moscow over anti-war posts he made "solely out of religious conviction". Protestant pastor Nikolay Romanyuk is under investigation for an anti-war sermon. A court extended pre-trial detention until June, despite his poor health.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2971

#RUSSIA: Criminal prosecution to follow fine for anti-war post?

Police prosecuted Apostolic Orthodox Church Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko for allegedly "discrediting" Russia's Armed Forces in a 2022 online video. On 1 April, a St Petersburg court fined him a week's average wages. He quoted in court Jesus' words "blessed are the peacemakers", adding "the Church is obliged to voice precisely this position". A court spokesperson explained his conviction: "He uploaded a video in which it was said that Russia groundlessly invaded Ukraine. What other reasoning do you need?" Archbishop Grigory expects a second "discreditation" accusation and criminal prosecution.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2972

#UZBEKISTAN: Further 10 years in prison for Muslim prisoner of conscience

In the third conviction since December 2020, Navoi City Court handed a further 10-year term to Muslim prisoner of conscience Fariduddin Abduvokhidov. The 30-year-old now appears due for release in November 2034. Originally jailed for meeting with others in Tashkent to discuss Islam, Abduvokhidov's latest "crime" was allegedly telling fellow prisoners that the prison authorities "are not Muslims but infidels". The Investigator learned this through "spies in the prison", as well as "recordings of conversations". Another jailed Muslim, Alimardon Sultonov, was put in isolation cell in his new prison.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2973

#UKRAINE: How should government deal with conscientious objectors in wartime?

The declaration of martial law after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 cancelled the limited right to alternative service in peacetime. Hundreds of conscientious objectors to mobilisation – on religious and non-religious grounds - have been detained, forced into the army, held illegally (often for months) on military bases, or criminally prosecuted. Requested by Ukraine's Constitutional Court, a Venice Commission brief reaffirmed states' obligation to offer alternative service. If Ukraine is to meet international standards, the government should reinstate legal access to alternative civilian service and review criminal convictions.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2974

#BELARUS: "They decided to fabricate a case and accuse him of espionage"

On 1 April, the Supreme Court rejected Catholic priest Henryk Okolotovich's appeal against his 11-year jail term on treason charges. Both his trial and appeal were closed. In a message from prison, he denied "espionage for Poland and the Vatican". He rejected pressure to implicate the country's Catholic bishops. "Priests are being persecuted to shut our mouths, so that the Catholic Church does not tell the truth." Even before his arrest, the 65-year-old had suffered a heart attack and had part of his stomach removed due to cancer.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2975

#BELARUS: Police take relatives' DNA after KGB declares religious freedom group "extremist"

On 1 April the KGB ruled that religious freedom group Christian Vision, its website and social media channels are "extremist" and banned. Police raided the homes of three relatives of Dzmitry Korneyenko, one of the members identified by the KGB, taking DNA samples from two. "When [my brother] asked the police why they needed his DNA, they responded that it made it easier for them to hunt for me," Korneyenko said. Orsha District Police refused to say why officers visited Korneyenko's relatives and why they needed DNA samples.

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2976

#KAZAKHSTAN: Released prisoner banned from attending mosque

An official banned a released prisoner from attending mosque, threatening punishment for doing so or congratulating fellow Muslims after Friday prayers. The individual is the only one Forum 18 has found specifically banned from visiting places of worship. However, bans on "membership or participation in" religious organisations are common. Officials have not explained whether such bans include attending places of worship. Muslim prisoners of conscience Dadash Mazhenov and Abdukhalil Abduzhabbarov have completed jail terms. After 16 months, Almaty Police closed its criminal investigation into anti-war Orthodox priest Fr Yakov (Vorontsov).

https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2977