Congressional Briefing Focuses on Waning Religious Freedom in Former Soviet Union

 Religious freedom the focus of briefing in Washington
ICC Note: As reports of worsening religious freedom conditions stream in from nations formerly belonging to the Soviet Union at least one organization has organized a briefing on Capitol Hill to raise awareness among U.S. leaders of the worrying trend. 
01/28/2013 Washington, D.C. (CIC) – Religious freedom is waning in Eurasia and the Former Soviet Union. You’ve heard the stories. Churches liquidated, fathers arrested for holding a prayer meeting, pastors arrested for not registering the church, and families restricted to owning just one Bible.
As a result of these alarming trends, Russian Ministries–in cooperation with its global partners listed below and the Office of Congressman Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania)–is sponsoring a briefing on religious freedom issues in Eurasia/Former Soviet Union, with a focus on causes of suppression of religious freedom.
President of Russian Ministries Sergey Rakhuba says, “This briefing is to create more awareness and to mobilize the global community so that policies are developed and pressure is created on governments in the countries of the Former Soviet Union to give more freedom to the churches and leaders there.”
Rakhuba says they want to analyze some of the causes of increasing restrictions on freedom of religion, including such issues as blasphemy and anti-extremism laws in Russia, and bans on legal existence in Central Asian states. They also hope to highlight specific cases of violations of freedom of religion and encourage support from the global community.
The briefing will be held Wednesday, February 6 from 11 am to 2 pm in Washington, DC at the Rayburn House office building, room B-340.
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