Crimea: Only One Percent of Religious Organizations Re-Registered

Crimea: Only One Percent of Religious Organizations Re-Registered
By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST and the ASSIST News Service
SIMFEROPOL, CRIMEA (ANS – March 29, 2015) -- All 150 re-registration applications submitted to Crimea's Justice Department ahead of the original December 31, 2014 deadline were initially rejected as they were "very bad", Irina Demetskaya of the Justice Department in the Crimean capital Simferopol told Forum 18 News Service.
According to Felix Corley of the Forum 18 News Service (www.forum18.org), even after the extended March 1 deadline, only two centralized religious organizations -- one of the Orthodox dioceses and the Muftiate [an administrative territorial entity under the supervision of a mufti -- have been re-registered and only 12 local communities.
“This means that only about one percent of religious communities which had legal status under Ukrainian law now have it under Russian law,” said Felix Corley.
Forum 18 also notes that so far, just over a tenth of religious communities which had registration under Ukrainian law have applied for the compulsory re-registration under Russian law since Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014.
Without registration under Russian law, religious communities can meet for religious purposes. However, they cannot enjoy the rights that legal entities have, including to enter into contracts to rent property, employ people or invite foreigners for religious activity.
“Two more are awaiting approval from the tax authorities, while 13 are being considered in Moscow,” said Corley. “Her office is still considering about 150 more. Without registration under Russian law, religious communities can meet, but cannot enter into contracts to rent property, employ people or invite foreigners.” He went on to say, ““Meanwhile, the Sevastopol authorities have reaffirmed their refusal to return the confiscated St. Clement’s Catholic Church.”
The parish has been seeking its return since the 1990s. Vladimir Ryabykh of Sevastopol's Culture Department claimed to Forum 18 that it cannot be returned as the parish has not asked for it back.
Photo captions: 1) An Orthodox service in Crimea before the Russian takeover. 2) Pro-Russian troops in Crimea.
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