VZCZCXRO3753
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHNT #0887 1240930
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 040930Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5693
INFO RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ALMATY 7874
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 1953
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 2482
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 2383

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000887 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2016 
TAGS: KIRF PGOV PHUM UZ
SUBJECT: NGO'S SAMARKAND OFFICE FORCED TO CLOSE DUE TO 
ADMINISTRATIVE ILLEGALITIES 
 
Classified By: AMB. JON R. PURNELL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B,D). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: The local office of the Ministry of Justice 
took action against Amcits from the NGO Global Involvement 
through Education in Samarkand.  Several were detained, 
harassed, and forced to sign statements.  The organization 
paid fines for non-compliance with registration laws and 
voluntarily withdrew all of their staff from Samarkand. 
However, it denied any involvement in religious activity on 
the part of the volunteers, many of whom have been sent back 
to the U.S. to avoid further problems.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Three Amcit volunteers with Global Involvement through 
Education (GIE), a non-profit organization focused on English 
language training, were fined by Uzbek authorities in 
mid-April for not properly registering with the Samarkand 
branch of the MFA and Office for Visas and Registration 
(OVIR).  National Security Service (NSS) officers confiscated 
the volunteers' passports until fines of approximately $600 
were paid and OVIR registration was completed.  Additionally, 
NSS, Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and Ministry of 
Justice (MOJ) officials raided English club meetings being 
held by the volunteers.  The authorities interrogated the 
students and confiscated various DVDs, videotapes and books 
belonging to the Amcits. 
 
¶3. (C) Concurrently, a fourth Amcit was visited by the GOU at 
the GIE Samarkand office.  He was questioned about his work 
in Samarkand and the authorities scoured the contents of the 
office, confiscating various reading materials and computer 
discs.  The volunteer was forced to sign an unknown document 
without translation and given a scrap of paper containing a 
bank account number, to which a fine of $400 was to be wired. 
 The volunteer was told that he was being charged with 
teaching religion and that many students had provided the 
authorities with statements supporting these claims.  He was 
released and left Samarkand with the entire contents of the 
office and the remaining Amcits.  Eventually, four of the 
volunteers were repatriated to the U.S. 
 
¶4. (C) The GIE country director spoke with Conoffs about the 
incidents and provided written statements by four of the 
Amcits forced out of Samarkand.  He told Poloff that GIE was 
not a religious organization and did not promote 
proselytizing.  He claimed that the MOJ offices in Tashkent 
and Samarkand provided conflicting guidance on registration. 
MOJ Samarkand informed him that the $400 fine was not for 
teaching religion, but for continuing to operate out of the 
Samarkand office without proper registration.  (Note:  The 
$400 fine has not yet been paid by GIE and they have not 
received any further pressure to settle the charges.  End 
note.) 
 
¶5. (C) Comment: GIE's experiences with the MOJ and its branch 
offices is far from unique as conflicting information, sudden 
changes of procedure, and outright confusion are the norm. 
This case again demonstrates Uzbek fears of proselytizing as 
well as the lack of transparency and due process that NGOs 
here face even when making a good faith effort to comply with 
the GOU's complex and ever shifting registration 
requirements.   While it is unclear whether or not the Amcits 
were proselytizing, Post is aware that many NGOs do promote 
religion even as they provide various forms of assistance. 
PURNELL