Uzbekistan's government has officially granted itself sweeping control over religious materials in the central Asian country, in a move that may outlaw the distribution of Bibles.
According to Norway-based religious freedom watch organization Forum 18, Uzbek authorities had long maintained a de facto stranglehold on religious literature, films, recordings, websites and other materials, even without a law specifically authorizing such actions. With a new censorship decree, which came into force Jan. 27, the government now has a legal basis to control the production, distribution and import of all such materials.
The decree bans the distribution of religious materials anywhere except a fixed commercial point of sale with a cash register and it outlaws their importation without state permission. In addition, the decree criminalizes the storage, production or distribution of religious materials that encourage people to change their beliefs or that, in the state's view, "distort" religious canons.
The law adds a new dimension to the stifling of religious freedom in Uzbekistan, which had already outlawed unregistered religious meetings under the 1998 Religion Law. Keep reading
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