Tashkent, Uzbekistan - A court in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, has ordered the closure of an international non-governmental organization's office in the country for activities including Protestant missionary work, the court said Thursday.
The Tashkent City Court of Civic Affairs said Global Involvement through Education's mission in the Central Asian country would be closed down due to numerous infringements of Uzbek law.
"The Justice Ministry's principle objection is activity carried out by the office that does not correspond to objectives declared in its charter, in particular missionary work among the local young people," the court said.
Under the guise of English language courses, foreign nationals were attempting to convert students at local colleges from the country's traditional faiths, Islam and Orthodox Christianity, to Protestantism, the court said.
The ministry also cited other infringements revealed during investigations into the mission's work.
Under the Uzbek law on freedom of conscience and religious organizations, "activities aimed at converting religious believers from one faith to another, along with any other missionary activities, are banned.
Global Involvement through Education has met the same fate as the American Bar Association / Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, which a Tashkent court ruled in April should be closed after 11 years of work in the country.