Articles

The Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM), Europe's largest annual human rights and democracy conference, is organized every year by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) as a platform for OSCE participating States, Partners for Co-operation, civil society, international organizations and OSCE structures to take stock of the implementation of the human dimension commitments, discuss associated challenges, share good practices and make recommendations for further improvements (www.osce.org/hdim_2013).

On 2^nd October 2013, during the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting organized by OSCE in Warsaw, Soteria International presented its observation of how the right to a fair trial is influenced by the unfair, biased and corruptive media coverage of court cases. Making the parallel with the criteria for free and fair elections established by OSCE election observation missions, it was proposed that similar method is considered in trial monitoring programs.

On 30^th September 2013, during the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting organized by OSCE in Warsaw, Soteria International presented its findings and recommendations on how the human trafficking discourse is being abused in some countries. While in many states the problem of human trafficking continues to be one of the most serious issues, it is often the case that state authorities use such allegations to attack spiritual movements that create communities based on common voluntary work.

On 3^rd October 2013, during the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting organized by OSCE in Warsaw, Soteria International raised in front of the international community the issue appeared in one of the cases monitored by the organization. The case regards political asylum granted by Sweden to a Romanian citizen, founder of a large spiritual movement due to the persecution he faced in his home country. Since Romania acceded to the EU, the prosecution of the respective person is now considered on equal ground with the decision of asylum, thus it creates a contradiction between the asylum decision and the decision to issue an European warrant of arrest. While it is a legal matter the implications on human dimension result in violation of core fundamental rights.

Soteria International invites you to a conference:
Asylum and Human Rights challenged by EU directives

03 October 2013, 13:15 – 14:45
Side Event, Meeting Room 3

OSCE/ODIHR - Warsaw

Mr. Bivolaru is a Romanian refugee with asylum in Sweden. He has been persecuted since the Ceausescu regime. In June 2013 Romania issued a European Arrest Warrant for him to be handed over to 6 years imprisonment. Thus Swedish authorities are obliged simultaneously to protect the refugee and to take part in the persecutions from which they protect him.

This reveals an alarming unsolved conflict between asylum rights and EU directives.

Are Human Rights sacrificed in EU to cover faulty practice?

Political asylum may be granted because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

Asylum is a fundamental right and granting it is an international obligation recognized in the 1951 Geneva Convention on the protection of refugees.

The Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM), Europe's largest annual human rights and democracy conference, is organized every year by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) as a platform for OSCE participating States, Partners for Co-operation, civil society, international organizations and OSCE structures to take stock of the implementation of the human dimension commitments, discuss associated challenges, share good practices and make recommendations for further improvements (www.osce.org/hdim_2013).

by Camillo Maffia

Recent reports on the conditions of religious freedom in Italy show a relatively peaceful situation compared with other European countries and the world. However, there is often the tendency to underestimate the backwardness of the legislative framework, insufficient to contain the changes that globalization has produced in a country in which, only thirty years ago, Catholicism was the only religion of the State. The media role and the control of the police on religious minorities is such as to enable us to affirm that equal religious opportunities are not guaranteed enough, at the level of co-existence, in the country.

A case about religious persecutions and violation of human rights was signaled in Poland, starring the spotlight on Ryszard Matuszewski (Paramahansa Lalit Mohan Baba-Ji), the head of Hindu Himavanti Confraternity Order (HCO), who was imprisoned together with other members of HCO, based on information posted on the site www.ryszard-matuszewski.com.

We present below some details related to this case, in the way it was mentioned on the above site, and we will investigate for updates in the near future.

Mr. Bivolaru is a Romanian refugee with asylum in Sweden. He has been persecuted since the Ceausescu regime. In June 2013, Romanian authorities issued a European Warrant of Arrest for him to be handed over for 6 years imprisonment. Swedish authorities are obliged simultaneously to protect the refugee and to take no part in the persecutions from which they protect him.

Unconstitutional practices – witch-hunts in the media – and social marginalization: stigmatization of minority religions and spiritual movements.

As minority religions and spiritual and esoteric movements gain momentum in the modern world, so do those who criticise them, often helped by sensationalist media and institutionalized interests. The large propagation of misinformation, based on interpretations, rumours and exaggerations, often lead to marginalization and persecution of spiritual practitioners. One would expect modern democratic countries to effectively mediate such discriminations. Instead, authorities themselves often fall into a trap of sensationalistic threats proliferated by media and traditionalists.

Join us for a Peace Walk in Copenhagen Saturday 21st September on the UN international Peace Day!

Soteria International will contribute among the Peace Speeches outside the Danish Parliament 3-4 pm. The arrangement is a joint venture under the guidence of "Think with the Heart" - Tænk med Hjertet.

Soteria International are partners in organizing the conference "A cause for concern in Europe: Freedom of opinion, religion and belief. Persecution of, and discrimination against minority groups" in the European Parliament 16th October.

We cordially welcome all collaborators and interested to this important discussion among scholars, human rights activists and politicians for securing fundamental freedom in Europe!

Last year we highlighted the democratic problems inside FECRIS that surfaced in a report from Dresden University - Undemocratic practices of anti-sect movements.

The well-known Human Rights defender Mr. Quraishy visited their annual meeting and after issued a video expressing his negative experiences confirming the critique of sectarian and undemocratic practices within the organization.

Mr. Quraishy also made a written complaint to the Council of Europe where FECRIS enjoys advisory status and received an answer from Jutta Gützkow, Head of Civil Society Division, Directorate General of Democracy of the
 Council of Europe, who replied that they are looking into the matter.

The video has been widely spread in social media and social society have expressed their support of Mr. Quraishy’s critique and republished the video, such as Human Rights Without Frontiers, Religions for Peace, European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF) and EMISCO.

Soteria International fully supports Mr. Quraishy and all initiatives to increase transparency regarding the disproportionate influence FECRIS and their anti-spiritual and undemocratic agenda have in Europe today.

On the 27^th July Soteria International was invited to speak at the Universal Peace Federation interfaith prayer meeting in Copenhagen on the topic of “Most important three points for interfaith activity”. Soteria International encourages the many growing interfaith activities that we consider a cornerstone in securing the freedom of conscience and belief, as outlined in the speech as follows:

“Thank you Mr. Igarashi and Universal Peace Federation for inviting Soteria International to this well arranged interfaith meeting to speak on the important issue of interfaith activities.

Soteria International is engaged when human rights are breached due the individual practice of faith or belief.

Below is the video declaration of Madalina Dumitru, the alleged victim in the case against Gregorian Bivolaru. She states the ordeal she has to endure because of the trial she was dragged into against her will becasue of the blatant decision of Romanian authorities to incriminate Gregorian Bivolaru by all means.

PERSISTENCE OF ABUSES IN POST-COMMUNIST ROMANIA:
ACTUAL FACTS AND JURIDICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT M.I.S.A.

Part I: Continued illegal surveillance of Romanian yogis. Framing the Bivolaru case in 2003-2004.

It was publicly admitted that in 1995 the Romanian Secret Services (SRI – the follower of Securitate) restarted to monitor the activity of Gregorian Bivolaru and MISA, as they considered that the organization he founded, as well as himself, threaten the national security. Thus, by wrongly applying the special procedure provided for in the Law for the National Security no. 51/1991, articles 13-15, the phone conversations of Gregorian Bivolaru and other MISA members have been wire-tapped. Following the same illegal attitude, on the 1st of February 1999 the Romanian Secret Services informed the authorities on the perpetuation of offences against state security, such as propaganda in favour of the totalitarian state, provided for in article 166 Penal Code (PC), and the communication of false information, provided for in article 1681 PC. By the resolution no. 500/P/1999 from the 30th of October 2000 the Prosecutors’ Office of the Bucharest Court of Appeal decided not to start the penal proceedings and the complaint was quashed. On the 27th of May 2002 the Romanian Secret Services communicated again to the Prosecutors’ Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (Highest Court) the fact that between 1999 and 2002 the persons previously investigated had continued to do in an organized way such actions as alleged in 1999. By the resolution no. 500/P/1999 on the 7th of April 2003 it was again decided not to start the penal proceedings, because there was no evidence of that.

(excerpt translated from the book “The Suppression of the Yoga Movement in the 80s”)

How Good and/or How Bad Can a Democracy Be?

1.What does Bad look like? The Face of Evil.

An Outline of the Facts: MISA’s Repression meant as Manipulation

The investigation we have carried out in this book has only been looking at the issue of the repression of the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute, both of the organization itself, of the members of this organization, and the repression of the movement’s adepts, who were more or less active and close, and who went through MISA’s yoga training courses. Our research did not focus on the School’s doctrine problems, nor did it tackle its spiritual and cultural significance. Outside the scope of our analysis were also the very few private or institutional interventions against the repression of the Movement; such references, if they do exist, were introduced to shed light on the background of our undertaking.

Covertly in the beginning, and later on overtly, the action taken against MISA and its followers lasted just as long as the post- December 1989 Romania. The repression against MISA has been going on for 20 years now and still had not ceased by the moment this volume was brought out. Judging by its proportions, it was outweighed only by the retaliation of the opposition during the miners’ riots, another phenomenon bearing the hallmark of the Romanian transition period. However, the miners’ riots were only a short-time clash, and purely political, and lasted as long as the Power could take control over everything in this country. The repression against MISA crossed all the stages of the transition, starting with the red quadrangle times, and lasting through to Romania’s EU accession, and even after this significant event. It looks like the repression has never been affected by the transition from one government to the other, nor was it influenced by the alternate terms in office of the presidents, who in turn changed the head of the intelligence services and the general prosecutors.

The Movement for Spiritual Integration in Absolute (M.I.S.A.) has been founded as a non-profit association, by judicial decision on January 23, 1990, by the Court of Bucharests First District. It has a socio-professional, philosophical and educative character, aiming to increase the spiritual level of people by spreading the traditional yoga knowledge and practices.

The spiritual mentor of Movement for Spiritual Integration in Absolute is the yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru. Endowed with a truthfully encyclopedic knowledge, having a rich practical experience and genuine pedagogical talent, Gregorian Bivolaru contrived to found what we today name M.I.S.A. Yoga School, the largest yoga school in Europe.

I.                    VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS – PROHIBITION OF TORTURE

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The Romanian authorities organized an abusive house search in 16 private houses on the 18th of April 2004. During the house searches, which were very violent, the police troops and gendarmes found most of the people sleeping. This is one fact that underlines that the force used against the peaceful inhabitants was completely disproportionate. When they were awoken by the broken doors and windows, many of the yogis were hit very hard in the head with the ends of machine guns and with the boots in the chest, even if no one opposed the entrance of the official troops.

On 17 June 2013, the renowned NGO Human Rights Without Frontiers addresses the questionable conviction of Gregorian Bivolaru, the founder of the largest spiritual movement in Romania, in its newsletter. Please see below: