Bishkek (AsiaNews/F18) - Kyrgyz authorities have filed a lawsuit to seize a building used for worship and the land around it owned by the Church of Jesus Christ. The structure is located in an area in the capital of Bishkek that is undergoing rapid development with rising property values.
On 24 January, Bishkek's Inter-District Economic Court cancelled the 1999 contract by which the Church of Jesus Christ bought the property, vaguely claiming that the contract was signed in violation of the law. Quickly Church leaders filed an appeal, and now the case goes before the Bishkek City Court on 18 April.
"It is not just the Church of Jesus Christ's property under investigation at the moment. Other religious and non-religious buildings are also under question," said Aysulu Orozbekova, who represented the State Property Fund in its suit before the court. Church members however strongly dispute her claim.
Sources in the Bishkek Protestant community, anonymous for security reasons, told the Forum 18 news service that the lawsuit filed by the authorities - aimed at seizing the building (formerly a Culture House) and surrounding land - probably depends on two factors: their ill-concealed dislike for the Church's activities and the spread of the Christian faith in many areas of Kyrgyzstan; and a desire to profit financially from a "cheap" asset owned by Christians.
They point out that the building is in a "prestigious district" of the capital where market values now run in the millions of dollars. For them, the authorities "just want to take it away from us because, we think, they have potential buyers".
It is rumoured that the State Property Fund plans to seize property and other assets belonging to religious communities for commercial reasons, but little is known of such projects.
In addition, since the beginning of the year, various government departments have launched a series of inspections and tightened controls against mosques and churches in Bishkek.
In its case, the Protestant community said that over the years it made ​​considerable investments to repair the building, improving its surrounding area, taking care of its park, and thus "fulfilled our obligations on the contract".
By contrast, the authorities refuse to acknowledge the improvements made to the structure and are willing, at best, to return "just what it paid 14 years ago".
Moreover, since at least a thousand people come to the church every weekend, they would remain without a place to worship and pray.
Kyrgyzstan has a population of just under five million inhabitants, 34 per cent of whom live in cities and towns.
Most Kyrgyz (70 per cent) are Sunni Muslim. Orthodox Christians are just over 5 per cent. The remaining 25 per cent include atheists and members of other religious denominations.