FFWPU Urges Release of Elizaveta Drenicheva, Prisoner of Conscience

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rev. Michael Jenkins, Family
Federation-USA President, today called on human rights organizations, news
media, religious leaders, and government agencies to publicize and protest the
imprisonment of Unificationist Elizaveta Drenicheva in Kazakhstan as a
prisoner of conscience.

Mrs. Drenicheva, 30, was convicted and sentenced on January 9 in Almaty to a
minimum two years behind bars in a district prison. According to the
prosecutor, Drenicheva, a Russian citizen doing missionary work in Kazakhstan,
was guilty of "heavy crimes against the peace and security of humanity." Her
crime consisted of teaching the church's doctrine of original sin, which was
interpreted by the court as denigrating groups outside the church on the basis
of their "ethnicity" or "lineage." "This is a fundamental violation of Mrs.
Drenicheva's rights," said Jenkins. "The idea that our teaching denigrates
people on the basis of ethnicity is outrageous. Nothing could be further from
the spirit or letter of the teachings of our church and its founder, the
Reverend Sun Myung Moon."

Also expressing his concern, the Reverend Dr. Walter Fauntroy, the noted civil
rights leader and the former U.S. Congressman, who was Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.'s personal representative to the presidents of the United States in
the 1960's, stated that "Religious freedom is the cornerstone of a just and
ethical society. The Unification movement's works and teachings promote the
value of all races, faiths and peoples. We are deeply concerned that this
injustice be immediately rectified."

Article 18 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights
guarantees members of all religions the right to practice their faith without
fear of imprisonment. In recent months, human rights groups have become
increasingly concerned about mounting repression against religious minorities
in Kazakhstan. Commenting on the case, Evgeniy Zhovtis, chief of the
Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights, stated: "You could hardly
imagine a better way to discredit our country." On January 16, Radio Free
Europe reported that human rights defenders consider Drenicheva a prisoner of
conscience and have demanded her immediate release.

"We are appealing to members of all faith communities to join us in making it
clear to the government of Kazakhstan that the principle of religious freedom
applies to everyone," Rev. Jenkins said, adding: "Elizaveta's only crime was
sharing her faith with people who had come to our center to hear Reverend
Moon's teaching on faith and reconciliation."

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Michael Jenkins
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SOURCE Family Federation for World Peace & Unification

Douglas Burton of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification,
+1-202-319-3200 ext 115, publicaffairs@familyfed.org