News from June 2020
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and prohibits religious organizations from exercising any political authority or receiving privileges from the state. The country remained strict in its refugee screening process, a policy the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion as well as the right to change one’s religion. It specifies there is no state religion and stipulates equality and freedom for all religious communities. The law prohibits religious discrimination and hate speech. Religious groups, particularly the Serbian ...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and religion and bans religious groups from undertaking actions inciting religious hatred. It establishes the separation of religion and state and prohibits pursuit of political goals by religious groups. The law requires all religious groups to register...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution stipulates the separation of state and religion and the equality of all religions. It also protects the right of individuals to express their religious beliefs and practice religious rituals, provided these do not violate public order or public morality. The law prohibits the government...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution establishes Islam as the state religion but mandates equality for persons of all faiths. The government maintained its authority over all Islamic matters and institutions, including assets and personnel of all mosques. Non-Muslim groups register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
News Release: WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement in response to the State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report :
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitutions of the union government and of the semiautonomous government in Zanzibar both prohibit religious discrimination and provide for freedom of religious choice. Since independence, the country has been governed by alternating Christian and Muslim presidents. Twenty-two members of the Association...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of faith and conscience and the practice of one’s religion. The country’s 16 states exercise considerable autonomy on registration of religious groups and other matters. Unrecognized religious groups are ineligible for tax benefits.
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution “prohibits discrimination based on religious belief" and “protects religious liberty, as long as the exercise of religious freedom is not harmful to the security of the State." The law officially recognizes five religious groups: Buddhists, Muslims, Brahmin-Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians.
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution provides for the right to choose, practice, and change one’s religion, and it defines the country as a Christian nation. By August cases against all 39 pastors from the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (CCCS), who had been charged for not filing their tax returns or paying taxes,...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution recognizes Roman Catholicism as the state religion; the law requires the state to contribute to the Catholic Church’s maintenance. The constitution prohibits the state from impeding the free exercise of religions that do not impugn “universal morality or proper behavior" and provides...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and protects the right to choose, practice, or change one’s religion. It declares the Church of Norway is the country’s established church, and the government continued to provide it with exclusive benefits, including funds for salaries and benefits...
By DOJ Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
News Release: John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TYLON CEASAR, 20, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant to 16 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing heroin and illegally selling a firearm.
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of conscience and the right of all individuals to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion; mandates a secular state; requires the state to treat all religions impartially; and prohibits discrimination based on religion. It also states that citizens must...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of religion and worship and equality for all, irrespective of religious belief. It grants religious groups autonomy and the right to provide religious instruction. The government continued to report a trend of local actors using...
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion and prohibits discrimination based on religious belief. Relations between the government and religious organizations markedly improved in 2019, following the inauguration of President Felix Tshisekedi in January, according to media reports. In contrast to the previous year, there were no reports of government repression or intimidation of religious organizations engaged in political activities.
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and stipulates there shall be no state religion. It provides for freedom of belief, the right to practice and promote any religion, and to belong to and participate in the practices of any religious organization in a manner consistent with the constitution.
By DOJ Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
News Release: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today the results of the June 2020 Federal Grand Jury.
By DOJ Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
News Release: CAMDEN, N.J. - The president of a company providing goods to government agencies was charged today by a federal grand jury with allegedly attempting to defraud businesses in connection with government contracting, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
By State Newswire | Jun 10, 2020
Release: The law prohibits religious discrimination and restrictions on religious freedom and provides for prosecution of religious hate crimes. Religious groups recognized by the government are eligible to receive contributions from income tax earmarked by individual taxpayers. The law requires Catholic religious ...
