CSW has learned that on January 21, 326 members of the Pentecostal church, "Word of Life", in Magadan requested political refuge in USA citing religious persecution by the local authorities and harassment by the nationalist groups in Magadan city (located in Siberia, Russia). A representative of the group submitted the application to the US embassy in Moscow.

The application of the members cites also psychological pressure resulting from harassment, threats and a negative mass-media campaign. For example, the Magadan city mayor N. Karpenko sanctioned picketing of the church by the National-Bolshevist Party. The Nationalists also threatened the lives of Mr Voskoboynikov, minister of the "Word of Life", other church leaders, and Mr Ryakhovski, who represented the Word of Life church on behalf of Slavic Centre for Law and Justice (SCLJ) in a recent court case.

Background

The "Word of Life" Church, founded in 1980, has around 500 members and belongs to the Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith, one of the officially registered Christian organisations. Last June the Prosecutor of Magadan Region started court proceedings to close down the church alleging that the pastor was using hypnosis during Church service in order to extort donations from the parishioners. The case was postponed " for an undetermined period of time" after a court hearing in which V. Ryakhovski, attorney from the SCLJ, presented evidence showing these accusations to be completely unfounded. The SCLJ was set up to provide support for the Russian churches following the implementation of the 1997 Russian Federation Federal Law on Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations.

The local Department of Justice used the fact that the case was never formally closed as a pretext for stopping the process of state re-registration of the Church. According to the law, the Department should either register the religious organisation or deny registration. The Russian law on Freedom of Conscience does not provide a procedure for stopping the registration process. Thus the actions the Magadan Department of Justice were illegal.

The Magadan City administration joined the Prosecutor and the Department of Justice in the harassment campaign by refusing to grant the church permission to purchase land for building a church. In fact, the Church representatives were told that they would never be granted permission to build their church. Currently the congregation meets in a rented room at the local cultural centre.

In December 1998, tax officials showed up at Church offices. Under the pretext of checking financial statements, they confiscated unrelated church materials, including documents containing personal data of the church members. After the incident several members were called in by the local security services "for a talk".

On January 22, lawyers from the SCLJ submitted a letter to the Russian Government requesting their assistance in addressing the issue of religious discrimination suffered by churches at the hands of the local authorities.

CSW National Director, Stuart Windsor, stated: " This grave situation reflects the frustration and fears of non-orthodox Christians in Russia who feel that they have no other recourse than to take drastic action like this. It shows the haphazard way in which the new law is being applied throughout the Federation. We hope the authorities in Magadan will re-think their actions and will grant the "Word of Life" church the rights and privileges it should enjoy as a member of an officially registered association in Russia. We also urge the authorities to take immediate action to guarantee the safety of the members of the church." CSW will be mobilising Parliamentarians and others and will continue to monitor the case.

For further information please contact CSW office on tel. + 44 181 942 8810/ fax. + 44 181 942 8821