VZCZCXRO9099
RR RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #1056/01 1921047
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111047Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0648
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 2183
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2152
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2193
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1471
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1999
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 2449

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KIRF TI
SUBJECT: JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FIGHTING TO IMPORT LITERATURE UNDER 
TAJIK LAW 
 
REF: A)  DUSHANBE 790  B) DUSHANBE 623 
 
DUSHANBE 00001056  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Jehovah's Witness Associate Counsel Gregory 
Olds expressed concern that that Customs officials' recent 
seizure of a shipment of his organization's religious literature 
represents a worrying shift in the Tajik government's attitude 
towards religious freedom and censorship.  During his July 10 
meeting with Ambassador and PolOff, Olds noted that whereas the 
Customs Service previously complied with well-publicized 
restrictions on the import of pornography and other 
objectionable material, there now appears to be a more nebulous, 
cumbersome and arbitrary system in place - demanding the 
affirmative approval of the Ministry of Culture that individual 
materials are suitable for dissemination in Tajikistan.  Kiril 
Kulikov, a Russian lawyer for Jehovah's Witness handling the 
organization's legal action against the Tajik Customs Service, 
provided an overview of ongoing court proceedings in Dushanbe. 
End Summary 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Background:  When a shipment of Jehovah's Witness 
religious literature arrived in Tajikistan April 17, customs 
officials determined that the organization did not have 
permission from the Department of Religious Affairs under the 
Ministry of Culture to import the materials and seized the 
shipment. (Reftel A).  Samples went to the Ministry of Culture 
for "expert study" in order to verify their conformance with 
Tajik laws.  This study - which  the ministry has not released - 
allegedly found  the materials to be illegal, and prompted the 
State Committee on National Security to request that the 
offending shipment be transported out of the country. 
 
WORKING WITHIN THE SYSTEM 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Olds conveyed his organization's respect for the 
right of any sovereign nation to regulate the import of 
pornographic and other offensive materials.  However, he also 
emphasized that a censorship campaign actively targeting 
Jehovah's Witness members and activities would not be met by 
meek acquiescence.  Therefore, his organization is responding 
through both political and legal channels in Tajikistan. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On the political front, Olds has come to Dushanbe from 
Jehovah's Witness headquarters in New York to raise awareness 
among diplomatic missions of the freedom of religion issues at 
stake, and to attempt to meet with high-level Tajik officials to 
resolve the issue.  Sensing that the seized shipment may have 
raised eyebrows in part due to its large size (approximately 
five tons), Olds noted that he was authorized to negotiate with 
Tajik authorities on the volume of literature and other 
materials imported by his organization.  In addition, Olds 
expressed interest in meeting Muradullo Davlatov, Deputy 
Minister of Culture for Religious Affairs, because Davlatov's 
hostility towards Jehovah's Witness activities seems to be a 
primary source of the organization's present difficulties. 
However local representatives of Jehovah's Witness have 
unsuccessfully tried to meet with senior Ministry of Culture 
officials over the past month. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Jehovah's Witness representatives have brought two 
legal actions against the Customs Service.  However, initial 
results have been discouraging and both cases are currently 
under appeal.  In the first case, the judge demanded that 
counsel for Jehovah's Witness produce the "expert report" of the 
Ministry of Culture that formed the basis of the State Committee 
on National Security's decision to order the removal of the 
shipment.  However, on order of the State Committee on National 
Security, the Ministry of Culture refused to release the report. 
 Without the report, the judge ruled that Jehovah's Witness 
could not prove its case, and the action was dismissed.  In the 
second case, the judge ruled that the involvement of the State 
Committee on National Security made the issue a military matter, 
and that the action must therefore be dismissed and re-filed in 
military court. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Despite the difficulties pursuing claims through 
official legal channels, both Olds and the Ambassador agreed 
that such steps are necessary and crucial, and may produce 
unexpected results.  However, Ambassador also noted that the 
recent troubles experienced by Jehovah's Witnesses in Tajikistan 
(including allegations of physical assault by the authorities, 
in addition to the seizure of their literature, reftel A) are 
symptomatic of a broader trend of increased governmental control 
over all religious activity and many other aspects of life in 
Tajikistan since the November 2006 presidential election. 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00001056  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment:  The Jehovah's Witnesses have a long struggle 
ahead, with a national government increasingly suspicious of 
outside organizations and the Ministry of Culture and State 
Committee on National Security looking for reasons to seize 
their literature, interrupt meetings (reftel B), and interrogate 
their members.  Using the Tajik court system, however 
dysfunctional, to fight for their cause is an essential step to 
convincing local authorities to respect the freedom of religion 
guaranteed under the Tajik constitution.  Post will continue to 
monitor the situation, and raise the issue with top-level 
government officials, emphasizing Tajikistan's legal obligations 
and international agreements for freedom of religion. End 
Comment. 
JACOBSON