16 March, 2009

Courtesy: http://www.familyfed.org

Speaking to the press leaving the prison

Liza Drenicheva Says “Thank You!” to Her World Family

Elizaveta Drenicheva is getting reacquainted with freedom at the Peace Embassy in Almaty, according to officials of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Kazakhstan. She was released from a district prison in Almaty on March 11. She reportedly feels fine, although she was ill part of the time she spent in a cold windowless cell for two months. Unificationist officials continue to consider filing an appeal of her guilty verdict, which by all accounts was unfounded and likely would be found unconstitutional if challenged. Nonetheless, the church's missionary work has been suspended for the time being.

An appeals court in Almaty, Kazakhstan, ruled March 10 that the two-year sentence of Elizaveta be commuted to time served (two months). The judge said that she would have to pay fines and court costs totaling about $1,000.

The guilty verdict remains a problem for the church, although an appeal of the verdict is possible. The prosecution had asked that Ms. Drenicheva, a Unification Church missionary, be given three years’ probation, but the judge decided that she should be released immediately with no restrictions. After her release she may return to the Russian Federation, since she is a Russian citizen.

On January 9, 2009, Ms. Drenicheva was sentenced to two years in prison by Almalinsky District Court in Almaty. The judge ruled that she was guilty of a “crime against peace and security of humankind” because she had allegedly taught that certain groups of people are inferior on the basis of their relation to “tribal and class identity.”

Liza with her husband and parents

In fact, Mrs. Drenicheva was simply teaching the Unification Church’s universal principles on Original Sin based upon scripture, which holds that all human beings are born into a sinful state and need to attain salvation through God’s grace and their own efforts. The Unification Church is an officially registered religion in Kazakhstan and had received no previous indication from the government that its teachings were legally problematic.

Konstantin Krylov, a Russian Unification Church official who attended the hearing, thanked the groups that joined in this campaign to win Ms. Drenicheva's release, in particular the International Coalition for Religious Freedom (ICRF). He said there were about 10 observers in the courtroom, including a representative of the U.S. State Department, an official representing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and some reporters, including one representing Radio Liberty. On Monday press releases urging that the sentence of Ms. Drenicheva be overturned were issued by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, the Leadership Council for Human Rights, and the ICRF.

Mr. Krylov spoke by telephone March 10, saying the church legal team would consider an appeal of the verdict. There is no risk to Ms. Drenicheva if she appeals to Kazakhstan's Supreme Court, although a negative decision by the Supreme Court would be far-reaching. Yet, if the church does not appeal the decision, the government might continue to arrest church members for evangelical work.

Written by Doug Burton in Washington, D.C.