Date: Thursday 10 August 2006
Subj: India: Supreme Court ruling will greatly advance persecution.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
On Friday 4 August 06, India's Supreme Court ruled that police do not require warrants in order to lodge First Issue Reports (FIRs), arrest and detain anyone accused of involvement in religious conversion activities.
HINDU TALIBAN
Clearly this ruling opens the door for police with Hindutva sympathies to act as Hindu Taliban. It also opens the door for Hindutva forces to employ corrupt and sympathetic police as their agents of persecution.
Nuns, pastors, bishops and evangelists, as well as Christian aid workers, teachers and social workers, are all immediately at risk of arrest and imprisonment because of their Christian witness. In fact every Christian, actively witnessing or not, is at risk from hostile elements that may exploit the opportunity to bring false charges against them, inspired by a variety of motives, in the same manner that the blasphemy law is exploited for personal gain in Pakistan.
NO SANCTION REQUIRED
The Times of India reports: "Despite the bar on courts to take cognizance of an offence relating to proselytisation without the prosecution obtaining prior sanction either from the Central government, state government or the district magistrate, the police can lodge FIRs and arrest those indulging in such activity, the court has ruled." (Link 1)
"A Bench comprising Justices G P Mathur and Dalveer Bhandari said police do not require prior sanction of anybody in lodging an FIR or arresting a religious leader, if there is a complaint of proselytisation against him."
Previously the practice had been that police would follow Section 191(1-A) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Times of India explains, "Section 191(1-A) of CrPC says that 'no court shall take cognizance' of an offence involving inducement for conversion unless the prosecution has obtained previous sanction of the 'Central government or of the state government or of the district magistrate'." This protected religious leaders from harassment at the hands of police.
By its ruling, the Supreme Court has drawn a clear distinction between courts taking cognizance of an offence pertaining to proselytisation, and police lodging FIRs and arresting the religious figures alleged to be proselytising. So courts require a warrant before they hear a proselytism case, but police do not require a warrant to file criminal charges or to arrest and detain those so accused – those who should be regarded as innocent until proven guilty.
TRIGGER
In January 2005, Pastor Paulraj Raju of Kanartaka state was beaten by local Hindus and later arrested by local police on charges of attempting to convert Hindus. A criminal case was registered against Pastor Raju on 15 January 2005. His wife filed a petition against the arrest on 27 January 2005 and the proceedings were quashed by the Karnataka High Court on 23 February 2005, while the investigation was continuing, on the grounds that police had arrested Pastor Raju and registered the case without first obtaining a warrant and therefore the proceedings were illegal. Pastor Raju was released on 3 March 2005. However, the Karnataka government then appealed against the High Court order which quashed the case against him.
FAMILIAR WITH PERSECUTION
Pastor Paulraj Raju is familiar with persecution. He was attacked also on 1 May 2005. On that occasion he was so badly beaten he required hospitalisation. According to Compass Direct around 60 people were meeting in Pastor Raju's home in Mangalwarapete village near the Mysore district in Karnataka state when a 500-strong mob of Hindu militants and nationalists entered and violently attacked Pastor Raju, his wife, and other Christians, leaving both Pastor Raju and his wife bleeding profusely.
SUPREME COURT EXPLAINS RULING – DENIES MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
The Times of India reports: "The [Supreme] court explained that absence of prior sanction, a mandatory pre-requisite for a court to take cognizance of such offence, would not prevent a magistrate from remanding to police or judicial custody of an accused arrested by the police for the offence of proselytisation.
"There is no bar against registration of a criminal case or investigation by the police agency or submission of a chargesheet against the accused in such cases, Justice Mathur, writing for the Bench, said.
"Mere production of the arrested accused before the magistrate and the latter remanding him to custodial detention does not amount to taking cognizance of the offence, for which alone prior sanction is required, the Bench said."
IndLaw.com reports: "The apex court further ruled 'The specified authority empowered to grant sanction does so after applying its mind to the material collected during the course of investigation. There is no occasion for grant of sanction soon after FIR is lodged nor such a power can be exercised before completion of the investigation and collection of the evidence. Therefore the whole premises on the basis of which the proceedings have been quashed by the high court is wholly erroneous in law and is liable to be set aside." (Link 2)
IndLaw continues: "The Supreme Court in its concluding remarks observed, 'Power can be exercised to quash the criminal proceedings pending in any court but the power cannot be exercised to interfere with the statutory power of the police to conduct investigation in a cognizable offence. This being the settled legal position, the high court ought not to have interfered with and quashed the entire proceedings in exercise of power conferred by section 482 Cr P C when the matter was still at the investigation stage.'
"The apex court also described as wholly unjustified the sweeping remarks made by the High Court that initiation of criminal proceedings was an abuse of the courts process court and miscarriage of justice."
That a person can be arrested and detained without warrant is indeed a gross miscarriage of justice and abuse of human rights. It will certainly advance the Hindutva agenda and the persecution of Christians in India.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) SUPREME COURT'S NEW RULING ON PROSELYTISATION
Proselytisation FIR needs no sanction
by Dhananjay Mahapatra. 7 August 2006
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1863281.cms
2) Don't Quash Criminal Proceedings Till Probe Complete: SC To HC
6 August 2006
http://www.indlawnews.com/D9D8A6563E6C58013B1D68E8EA1D2E38
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
IRAN: STRIVING TOWARDS ISLAMIC APOCALYPSE
WEA Religious Liberty Prayer bulletin - No. 389 - Wed 02 Aug 2006
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IRAN: STRIVING TOWARDS ISLAMIC APOCALYPSE
-----------------------------------------
By Elizabeth Kendal
Ever since being elected President of Iran in June 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has used every means he can not only to drive Iran backwards to the days of the Islamic Revolution, but also to drive it forward to become a world leader in belligerence. Ahmadinejad is driven by ideology. He believes his divine calling is to hasten the coming of the Mahdi (the Shia messiah, the Hidden 12th Imam) and prepare Iran to receive him. According to the myth, the Mahdi, who supposedly disappeared in the 9th Century, will return from his occultation (concealment) in the well behind the Jamkaran mosque on the outskirts of Qom during a time of world chaos. He will lead the apocalyptic battle between good and evil and establish the global rule of Islam.
Convinced the Mahdi's return is imminent, Ahmadinejad is preparing Iran to receive him. Various infrastructure projects are underway for the Mahdi's benefit, and Ahmadinejad has vowed to rid Iran of Christianity and all other offensive non-Islamic influences and practices. He is also agitating world chaos by inciting anti-Semitism, advocating genocide, bolstering his arsenal, courting dictators and stoking tension across the globe. According to the myth, when the Mahdi returns from occultation Jesus will return from heaven to be his follower and pray behind him. Jesus will fight against the Dajjal, the deceiver or false messiah. There will be an apocalyptic battle between good and evil and Jesus will declare Islam to be the true religion and convert all Christians to Islam. The world will be transformed into a perfect Islamic society ruled over by the Mahdi. Then the Day of Resurrection will come. Hezbollah, an Iranian asset, holds the same ideology.
Persecution against the Iranian Church increased as soon as Ahmadinejad was elected. In the latest incident an Iranian Christian named Issa Motamadi was imprisoned for his faith on 24 July in the north-western town of Resht. He will soon stand trial before a Revolutionary Tribunal. According to sources, Issa and his wife Parvah, both converts to Christianity, came to the attention of the authorities seven months ago when they decided to give their new-born son a Biblical, Christian name. A security official is said to have advised Issa to renounce his faith. He also intimated that it may take several executions before Iranians actually comprehend the reality of the religious situation. There are rumours that Parvah may also be targeted. The family desperately needs a lawyer courageous enough to advocate with conviction for Issa's and Parvah's rights. Issa's mother, who is not a Christian, is traumatised by the situation. All their Christian friends will be at risk.
Observers are concerned Ahmadinejad may increasingly persecute Christians while the eyes of the world are on the conflict in the Levant. But he who made the eye does see! (Psalm 94:8-11) So we appeal to Christ, who has promised to build his Church, and to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given for the benefit of the Church (Ephesians 1:22).
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:
* the Lord to stand against, frustrate and confound those rulers who 'plot together against the Lord' (Psalm 2), especially Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and all the leaders who support his agenda against the Church.
* God's Holy Spirit to do an amazing, powerful, subversive work in Iran, revealing Christ as Messiah, Redeemer, Saviour and friend.
* Issa & Parvah Motamadi and their young son, as well as their pastor, Christian friends and extended family, all of whom could be at risk along with Issa. May God protect and keep them physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and give them strength and a profound experience of his presence.
* God to provide Issa Motamadi with an advocate and with the right words to speak (Matthew 10:19), and may all things work together for the Kingdom and glory of God.
-----------------------------------------
IRAN: STRIVING TOWARDS ISLAMIC APOCALYPSE
-----------------------------------------
By Elizabeth Kendal
Ever since being elected President of Iran in June 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has used every means he can not only to drive Iran backwards to the days of the Islamic Revolution, but also to drive it forward to become a world leader in belligerence. Ahmadinejad is driven by ideology. He believes his divine calling is to hasten the coming of the Mahdi (the Shia messiah, the Hidden 12th Imam) and prepare Iran to receive him. According to the myth, the Mahdi, who supposedly disappeared in the 9th Century, will return from his occultation (concealment) in the well behind the Jamkaran mosque on the outskirts of Qom during a time of world chaos. He will lead the apocalyptic battle between good and evil and establish the global rule of Islam.
Convinced the Mahdi's return is imminent, Ahmadinejad is preparing Iran to receive him. Various infrastructure projects are underway for the Mahdi's benefit, and Ahmadinejad has vowed to rid Iran of Christianity and all other offensive non-Islamic influences and practices. He is also agitating world chaos by inciting anti-Semitism, advocating genocide, bolstering his arsenal, courting dictators and stoking tension across the globe. According to the myth, when the Mahdi returns from occultation Jesus will return from heaven to be his follower and pray behind him. Jesus will fight against the Dajjal, the deceiver or false messiah. There will be an apocalyptic battle between good and evil and Jesus will declare Islam to be the true religion and convert all Christians to Islam. The world will be transformed into a perfect Islamic society ruled over by the Mahdi. Then the Day of Resurrection will come. Hezbollah, an Iranian asset, holds the same ideology.
Persecution against the Iranian Church increased as soon as Ahmadinejad was elected. In the latest incident an Iranian Christian named Issa Motamadi was imprisoned for his faith on 24 July in the north-western town of Resht. He will soon stand trial before a Revolutionary Tribunal. According to sources, Issa and his wife Parvah, both converts to Christianity, came to the attention of the authorities seven months ago when they decided to give their new-born son a Biblical, Christian name. A security official is said to have advised Issa to renounce his faith. He also intimated that it may take several executions before Iranians actually comprehend the reality of the religious situation. There are rumours that Parvah may also be targeted. The family desperately needs a lawyer courageous enough to advocate with conviction for Issa's and Parvah's rights. Issa's mother, who is not a Christian, is traumatised by the situation. All their Christian friends will be at risk.
Observers are concerned Ahmadinejad may increasingly persecute Christians while the eyes of the world are on the conflict in the Levant. But he who made the eye does see! (Psalm 94:8-11) So we appeal to Christ, who has promised to build his Church, and to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given for the benefit of the Church (Ephesians 1:22).
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:
* the Lord to stand against, frustrate and confound those rulers who 'plot together against the Lord' (Psalm 2), especially Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and all the leaders who support his agenda against the Church.
* God's Holy Spirit to do an amazing, powerful, subversive work in Iran, revealing Christ as Messiah, Redeemer, Saviour and friend.
* Issa & Parvah Motamadi and their young son, as well as their pastor, Christian friends and extended family, all of whom could be at risk along with Issa. May God protect and keep them physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and give them strength and a profound experience of his presence.
* God to provide Issa Motamadi with an advocate and with the right words to speak (Matthew 10:19), and may all things work together for the Kingdom and glory of God.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Afghanistan: The return of the religious police.
Date: Friday 21 July 2006
Subj: Afghanistan: The return of the religious police.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
When Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban, strict conservative Islamic practice and values were enforced by the religious police of the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. This force, famous for beating women, destroying art and turning executions into spectator sport, was disbanded after the Taliban was ousted in 2001. Now however this department is being reinstated by President Hamid Karzai's government.
WAR FOR AFGHANISTAN BEING FOUGHT ON TWO FRONTS
There are two battles raging in Afghanistan: the battle between the US and allied forces against a resurgent Taliban; and the battle between Afghanistan's hard-line Islamist conservatives and reformist West-leaning moderates. Taliban military advances, Afghan (mostly Taliban) deaths at the hands of "infidel" forces, and Taliban propaganda against the "apostate government" of "US-puppet" President Hamid Karzai, are all playing into the hands of the hard-line Islamist conservative forces.
The reality is that the government is only one of many power groups in the nation. The government does not control anything much outside Kabul. The countryside is politically fragmented and controlled by warlords who fight either with the Taliban or against them according to their own interests at any time. American military might is not the primary weapon against the Taliban. America has only about one-tenth of the troop numbers that the Soviets did when they failed to pacify the mujahideen. Rather it has been America's ability to manipulate and buy the co-operation and allegiance of the warlords.
But, as Stratfor Intelligence comments: "As Taliban power increases, the willingness of regional warlords to collaborate with the government and the United States decreases. No one wants to be caught on the wrong side of a war in that country." (Stratfor 19 May)
Reflecting the political difficulty caused by Afghan deaths, Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently called on the international community to re-evaluate its strategy regarding the war on terrorism, saying the death of hundreds of Afghans in fighting with coalition troops is "not acceptable". According to Stratfor Intelligence Karzai told a news conference in Kabul, "I strongly believe ... we must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation." This, while both logical and strategic, would also shift the focus of the war on terror to Pakistan. Karzai added that even if the approximately 600 people killed in Afghanistan over the past month are Taliban, "they are sons of this land". (Stratfor 23 June)
TALIBANISATION
In a clear sign that Afghanistan's reformist moderates are drastically lacking support and struggling for political survival, President Karzai's Cabinet has approved a proposal from the government-appointed council of Muslim clerics to reinstate the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The Pak Tribune (Pakistan News Service) notes: "Although crackdowns on forms of expression deemed un-Islamic have generally come from the courts, and although conservative Islamists are currently the main block in Parliament, this initiative came from the President's recently approved Cabinet." The decision was clearly made for short-term political gain but the long-term implications for Afghanistan are deeply worrying.
Tom Coghlan reports from Kabul for The Independent: "The Afghan government has alarmed human rights groups by approving a plan to reintroduce a Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the body which the Taliban used to enforce its extreme religious doctrine.
"The proposal, which came from the country's Ulema council of clerics, has been passed by the cabinet of President Hamid Karzai and will now go before the Afghan parliament." (Link 1)
Coghlan quotes the Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs, Nematullah Shahrani, who says, "The job of the department will be to tell people what is allowable and what is forbidden in Islam. In practical terms it will be quite different from Taliban times. We will preach ... through radio, television and special gatherings."
According to Coglan, Shahrani denied that the department would have police powers but said it would oppose the proliferation of alcohol and drugs and speak out against terrorism, crime and corruption, adding that it would also encourage people to behave in more Islamic
ays.
Likewise, the Deputy Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs Ghazi Suleiman Hamed assured Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Radio Free Afghanistan that the new department will be quite different from the one run by the Taliban. He said there would be no violent punishment, only education, preaching, and encouragement to help move people towards God. (Link 2)
The assurances of moderation provide little comfort to multitudes of Afghan citizens who have traumatic memories of Taliban repression and violence. Likewise, analysts and human rights groups have expressed great concern that the new Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice could become a force of political and religious oppression in the guise of protecting Islamic values. The crimes the department will allegedly focus on, such as alcohol and prostitution, are already covered under criminal law. There is also drastic shortage of safeguards, and the definition of virtue is vague and open to interpretation.
Coglan reports that while Western diplomats have reacted with unease to the proposal, several told The Independent that they believed the move was partly designed to defuse Taliban propaganda which accuses the Karzai government of being un-Islamic.
Coglan writes, "With the Taliban making considerable gains in the south the Karzai government has been keen to establish a more conservative Islamic profile and to appear more critical of Western military operations."
Legislator Shukria Barekzai told RFE/RL that it was not clear when the parliament would debate and consider the proposal. However, she believes there is no need for such a department unless it commits to fighting bureaucratic corruption. Likewise MP Ahmad Behzad told AFP that he believed there was no need for such a department. "This decision was made under extreme pressure from religious groups — a return to Taleban rule is impossible but some circles are trying to lead Afghanistan towards Talebanisation. To preach virtue is cultural work — through the media, papers and other means." According to the AFP the Taliban are waging a growing insurgency "with a sophisticated propaganda campaign that includes condemning the government's foreign allies as anti-Islamic 'infidels' who are undermining the country's morality". (Link 3)
Mohamed Asif Nang, the spokesman for parliamentary affairs, told Reuters he did not know when parliament would debate the proposal, but if parliament decided to set the force up again, it would also determine its duties. (Reuters 16 July 2006)
The Afghan Parliament reconvenes at the end of July.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Fury as Karzai plans return of Taliban's religious police
By Tom Coghlan in Kabul, 17 July 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1181612.ece
2) Afghanistan: Proposal To Create Morality Department Causes Concern
PRAGUE, 18 July 2006 (RFE/RL)
http://www.azadiradio.org/en/news/2006/07/12E5F422-DFD8-42FC-A25D-5984C96EC3B2.ASP
3) Alarm over govt's move to set up Taleban-like 'vice squad'
AFP 19 July 2006
Subj: Afghanistan: The return of the religious police.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
When Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban, strict conservative Islamic practice and values were enforced by the religious police of the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. This force, famous for beating women, destroying art and turning executions into spectator sport, was disbanded after the Taliban was ousted in 2001. Now however this department is being reinstated by President Hamid Karzai's government.
WAR FOR AFGHANISTAN BEING FOUGHT ON TWO FRONTS
There are two battles raging in Afghanistan: the battle between the US and allied forces against a resurgent Taliban; and the battle between Afghanistan's hard-line Islamist conservatives and reformist West-leaning moderates. Taliban military advances, Afghan (mostly Taliban) deaths at the hands of "infidel" forces, and Taliban propaganda against the "apostate government" of "US-puppet" President Hamid Karzai, are all playing into the hands of the hard-line Islamist conservative forces.
The reality is that the government is only one of many power groups in the nation. The government does not control anything much outside Kabul. The countryside is politically fragmented and controlled by warlords who fight either with the Taliban or against them according to their own interests at any time. American military might is not the primary weapon against the Taliban. America has only about one-tenth of the troop numbers that the Soviets did when they failed to pacify the mujahideen. Rather it has been America's ability to manipulate and buy the co-operation and allegiance of the warlords.
But, as Stratfor Intelligence comments: "As Taliban power increases, the willingness of regional warlords to collaborate with the government and the United States decreases. No one wants to be caught on the wrong side of a war in that country." (Stratfor 19 May)
Reflecting the political difficulty caused by Afghan deaths, Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently called on the international community to re-evaluate its strategy regarding the war on terrorism, saying the death of hundreds of Afghans in fighting with coalition troops is "not acceptable". According to Stratfor Intelligence Karzai told a news conference in Kabul, "I strongly believe ... we must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation." This, while both logical and strategic, would also shift the focus of the war on terror to Pakistan. Karzai added that even if the approximately 600 people killed in Afghanistan over the past month are Taliban, "they are sons of this land". (Stratfor 23 June)
TALIBANISATION
In a clear sign that Afghanistan's reformist moderates are drastically lacking support and struggling for political survival, President Karzai's Cabinet has approved a proposal from the government-appointed council of Muslim clerics to reinstate the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The Pak Tribune (Pakistan News Service) notes: "Although crackdowns on forms of expression deemed un-Islamic have generally come from the courts, and although conservative Islamists are currently the main block in Parliament, this initiative came from the President's recently approved Cabinet." The decision was clearly made for short-term political gain but the long-term implications for Afghanistan are deeply worrying.
Tom Coghlan reports from Kabul for The Independent: "The Afghan government has alarmed human rights groups by approving a plan to reintroduce a Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the body which the Taliban used to enforce its extreme religious doctrine.
"The proposal, which came from the country's Ulema council of clerics, has been passed by the cabinet of President Hamid Karzai and will now go before the Afghan parliament." (Link 1)
Coghlan quotes the Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs, Nematullah Shahrani, who says, "The job of the department will be to tell people what is allowable and what is forbidden in Islam. In practical terms it will be quite different from Taliban times. We will preach ... through radio, television and special gatherings."
According to Coglan, Shahrani denied that the department would have police powers but said it would oppose the proliferation of alcohol and drugs and speak out against terrorism, crime and corruption, adding that it would also encourage people to behave in more Islamic
ays.
Likewise, the Deputy Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs Ghazi Suleiman Hamed assured Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Radio Free Afghanistan that the new department will be quite different from the one run by the Taliban. He said there would be no violent punishment, only education, preaching, and encouragement to help move people towards God. (Link 2)
The assurances of moderation provide little comfort to multitudes of Afghan citizens who have traumatic memories of Taliban repression and violence. Likewise, analysts and human rights groups have expressed great concern that the new Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice could become a force of political and religious oppression in the guise of protecting Islamic values. The crimes the department will allegedly focus on, such as alcohol and prostitution, are already covered under criminal law. There is also drastic shortage of safeguards, and the definition of virtue is vague and open to interpretation.
Coglan reports that while Western diplomats have reacted with unease to the proposal, several told The Independent that they believed the move was partly designed to defuse Taliban propaganda which accuses the Karzai government of being un-Islamic.
Coglan writes, "With the Taliban making considerable gains in the south the Karzai government has been keen to establish a more conservative Islamic profile and to appear more critical of Western military operations."
Legislator Shukria Barekzai told RFE/RL that it was not clear when the parliament would debate and consider the proposal. However, she believes there is no need for such a department unless it commits to fighting bureaucratic corruption. Likewise MP Ahmad Behzad told AFP that he believed there was no need for such a department. "This decision was made under extreme pressure from religious groups — a return to Taleban rule is impossible but some circles are trying to lead Afghanistan towards Talebanisation. To preach virtue is cultural work — through the media, papers and other means." According to the AFP the Taliban are waging a growing insurgency "with a sophisticated propaganda campaign that includes condemning the government's foreign allies as anti-Islamic 'infidels' who are undermining the country's morality". (Link 3)
Mohamed Asif Nang, the spokesman for parliamentary affairs, told Reuters he did not know when parliament would debate the proposal, but if parliament decided to set the force up again, it would also determine its duties. (Reuters 16 July 2006)
The Afghan Parliament reconvenes at the end of July.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Fury as Karzai plans return of Taliban's religious police
By Tom Coghlan in Kabul, 17 July 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1181612.ece
2) Afghanistan: Proposal To Create Morality Department Causes Concern
PRAGUE, 18 July 2006 (RFE/RL)
http://www.azadiradio.org/en/news/2006/07/12E5F422-DFD8-42FC-A25D-5984C96EC3B2.ASP
3) Alarm over govt's move to set up Taleban-like 'vice squad'
AFP 19 July 2006