Religious freedom 'getting worse' in Russia, Belarus and central Asia, says expert

(OSV News) -- OSV News recently spoke with researcher Felix Corley of Forum 18 -- a news service that partners with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in defending freedom of religion, thought and conscience -- on religious freedom in Russia, Belarus, occupied Ukraine and other nations in the region.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

OSV News: Overall, how would you describe the state of religious freedom in the areas on which you focus?

Corley: Basically, the message seems to be that the situation is getting worse in many or most of the countries that we cover. It was already very tight in most of the central Asian countries, especially Turkmenistan, and also in Azerbaijan and in Belarus.

And it's growing ever tighter in Russia with new laws against -- well, everything, really, with some of them targeted at people who exercise freedom of religion or belief. Some of them target it more widely, but sort of catch religious communities and individuals in the sweep of the law.

Obviously, Russia is imposing these laws in the parts of Ukraine that they have illegally occupied. There's also in occupied Ukraine the sheer instability of the situation, and a kind of lawless atmosphere, such that -- as in war zones or in unstable regions -- anything can happen, basically.

OSV News: What are some particular areas of concern you and your team are monitoring?

Corley: Clearly, the most urgent (area of concern) is in Kyrgyzstan, where many of the communities are very worried by a law (that was) scheduled to be considered in its parliament (the Zhogorku Kenesh) again on Dec. 26. Perhaps they believed that the rest of the international community wouldn't be watching them on Dec. 26, because people in many countries were off for Christmas. It's the second reading of a law which would very seriously tighten up the restrictions and would make illegal religious communities that cannot get together 500 adult citizens. During the draft process, and since it's been in parliament, there have been concerns expressed by many communities (about this law).

Catholics were particularly worried about the numbers of people required to form a religious community. They put forward their objections during the draft stage. And they were also concerned about the fact that re-registration will be required every 10 years.

In Russia, laws are always creeping up on everyone. There's a law that's reaching the Federal Assembly (Russia's parliament) that would ban religious meetings in private homes. We're not clear, at the moment, how much support that has from the government and whether it's likely to actually get anywhere. … But there are already so many restrictions on religious communities in Russia.

In Belarus, most of the religious communities have been pretty much cowed by the authorities' controls. The new law there came into effect earlier in 2024. Catholics there have had a very difficult time as the second biggest religious community in the country. They've seen some of their priests having to leave recently. They're in the middle of the re-registration process. And many communities, not just Catholics, but any religious community apart from the Moscow Patriarchate, are worried that if they make trouble or do anything that could upset the regime, then their re-registration of their communities might be threatened.

So people have been very cautious about saying anything, basically. But the compulsory re-registration runs until July, and any community that has not achieved or lodged a re-registration application by then is going to be liquidated through the courts, which would mean that the community could no longer function. Anything it did would be illegal.

So we've seen both practical measures against religious communities in 2024, all over the region, and also legal measures, which sometimes directly targeted freedom of religion or belief, sometimes more broadly framed, but which affects the exercise of freedom of religion or belief.

OSV News: Are there any common causes that are driving such restrictions in these countries? Or are there multiple causes unique to each of these countries, with every kind of case being different?

Corley: Well, the drivers are that these regimes do not like any activity that they do not control. So it's authoritarian instincts. They don't like it when people gather anywhere. So they don't like free trade unions, free political parties, free media, free religious communities. They really want communities to be ones that they can control.

This is why they have elaborate and burdensome registration systems. And there are always laws so they can find anything at any moment that they can come down on people with.

OSV News: In that case, why do these nations implement such laws, rather than outright bans on religions?

Corley: It's possible that practice derives from the Soviet system, which was quite a legalistic system. The laws were there, but they were a tool of the state against people, which the state used as needed. There was no objective standard of law, no objective rule of law. And this tradition has continued. On the surface, there's a veneer of legality. But then the laws are always there when the regimes feel threatened or nervous or uncertain or just feel like cracking down.

OSV News: What's your takeaway on Western and even global awareness of religious freedom in Russia, Belarus and the other countries you monitor?

Corley: Anyone who wants to find out what is happening to religious communities and individuals in these countries can do so. There's enough information available internationally about what is happening and religious communities and individuals in the region are vocal when they can do so in a safe way.

We talk to people in the countries all the time, so it's not impossible to find out if you're really interested in what religious communities think and feel, and what they're experiencing in terms of the violations of their rights to freedom of religion or belief. People can follow our website, forum18.org, as well as reliable news sources and information from the religious communities.

Obviously, we and anyone else (investigating) have to be very careful in the way we publish the information, making sure not to get people into any more trouble than they already are with the regimes that rule them. Religious communities which have members in different countries of the region have to balance interests, asking, "If we say something on this situation, will it make life more difficult for our community in that country?" These are very difficult judgments that they have to make.

Clearly, people tend to be more sympathetic or concerned about people of their own faith. But it's also important for people to be concerned for freedom of religion or belief for everyone, because everyone, of all faiths, suffers when there are restrictions, because you never know where the restrictions will reach. If it's wrong for members of your community to be harassed or have their rights violated, it's wrong for members of other faiths.

Everyone may or may not agree with their religious positions and views and doctrines and beliefs, but they have the right, provided they're not violating the rights of other people, to hold and to express and to exercise those beliefs.

OSV News: In addition to staying informed, what are some practical steps believers and people of goodwill can take to address the restriction of religious freedom?

Corley: Share this information, make it public, express concern to their own governments and ask them to take up these issues with the country where a particular violation is taking place. Ask them to raise these issues in intergovernmental organizations that your country is a member of, such as the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), the United Nations, the Council of Europe. There are avenues to bring concerns to local politicians in other countries and to fellow members of your religious community or your human rights group or whatever bodies that you are a part of yourself.