DUSHANBE, February 17, 2009, Asia-Plus — A court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district has banned the activities of the German Alliance Mission (GAM) in Tajikistan.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Davlat Sulaymonov, the head of the department for registration of public associations and political parties within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), said that the court in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni district on February 12 ruled that the activities of the German Alliance Mission be banned in Tajikistan. The court made the decision following application by a MoJ.
“Inspection by the ministry revealed that the German Alliance Mission that was registered as a humanitarian organization was actually engaged in religious propagation” said the MoJ official, “Thus, the organization employees were actively propagating Christianity to Tajik children and teenagers at summer educational camps organized by the GAM.”
He further added that it could not be ruled out that the GAM would appeal the verdict.
In the meantime, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service cited Sulaymonov as saying that six similar groups were banned in northern Tajikistan last year. The Tajik parliament is discussing a new draft law on religion that would place stricter controls on religious missionaries, Radio Liberty said.
