On 4 July 2000, the Alagir District administration issued an order stating that "the local religious organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses is hereby prohibited from opening its Kingdom Hall in Alagir on 5 July [2000] or any subsequent use of the building" (ACJWR 6 July 2000). The police reportedly formed a cordon around the building and prevented anybody from entering, taking pictures or filming the scene (ibid.). In addition to the police, OMON officers [special forces] were dispatched to Alagir's limits to inspect every incoming car (ibid.). The building had also been deprived of electricity since the previous day (ibid.).

The Kingdom Hall, described as "a spiritual centre for Jehovah's Witnesses", was the first of the kind in North Ossetia (ibid.). After having applied for the "necessary construction permits", Alagir's local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses with the help of the Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and volunteer construction workers from all over Russia, started building the Hall (ibid.). On 1 July 2000, the almost completed construction was suspended after

the representatives of the local religious organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses were handed a protest issued by the Alagir District Prosecutor's Office against the permit issued by the Alagir City Administration for the construction project (ibid.).

Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found within the constraints of this Response.

For information on the treatment of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, please consult RUS34257.E of 14 April 2000 and RUS33669.E of 24 February 2000.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia (ACJWR) [St. Petersburg]. 6 July 2000. "Local Authorities in Northern Ossetia Restrict Freedom of Worship." http://www.jw-russia.org/eng/press/prl00jul06Alagir.htm [Accessed 2 Oct. 2000]

IRB Databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Unsuccessful attempts to contact an oral source.

Internet sites including:

Amnesty International (AI)

Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR)

Country Reports 1999

Freedom in the World 1999/2000-09-29

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF-HR)

The Moscow Times

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)

The Religious Freedom Page

Stetson University Department of History Russian Religion News

Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ)

WatchtowerNews.org

World News Connection (WNC)

Search engines including:

Fast Search

Google (in French and in English)

Nomade (in French)

Rambler (in Russian)