A/HRC/22/51 extract “protection money”. Reportedly there also have been cases of kidnapping and violence to force persons belonging to religious minorities to renounce their faith and convert to mainstream religions. 38 Beside killing and injuring people, acts of violence may also cause serious damage to historical buildings of religious communities in order to further destroy any long-term survival prospects of such groups in the country. (j) Disrespect of internal autonomy 51. Some States unduly interfere in the internal affairs of religious communities, with the purpose of exercising tight political control. This can include the appointment by the Government of religious community leaders in ways which contradict the selfunderstanding of the respective group and their traditions, thereby violating their autonomy. In some cases this has led to splits within a community and poisoned the relationship between different sub-groups, as a result endangering the long-term development of the affected religious community at large. There have also been reports from members of minorities about State agents being implanted in religious institutions, including monasteries,39 in order to further tighten control over the religious life. Some leaders of religious groups are even arrested or detained over a long period of time. 40 (k) Confiscation of property and unfair restitution policies 52. Religious minorities have suffered from confiscation of their community property, 41 in some cases to such a degree that the infrastructure needed for ensuring the community’s long-term development has been destroyed. Often only insufficient or no compensation at all has been paid.42 When trying to get back their property, religious minorities may face many obstacles, including bureaucratic stipulations.43 States that meanwhile have embarked on programmes of restitution for previously confiscated property to religious communities sometimes fail to include minority groups in a transparent, fair and non-discriminatory manner. This can create or exacerbate resentments between different religious communities. (l) Criminal sanctions 53. Persons belonging to religious minorities are frequently exposed to increased risks of criminalization. Some domestic criminal law provisions specifically target members of minorities or persons otherwise deviating from the predominant religious or belief tradition 38 39 40 41 42 43 16 paras. 168-169). In Bangladesh, a woman belonging to the Hindu minority was reportedly kidnapped, forcefully converted and subsequently beaten, which led to her death (A/HRC/16/53/Add.1, paras. 33-39). In China, it is allegedly required to establish an unelected “Monastery Management Committee” in every monastery in Tibet, with up to 30 lay officials stationed in each monastery (A/HRC/22/67). In the Islamic Republic of Iran, seven Bahá’í members who coordinated the community’s religious and administrative affairs were detained and sentenced to long-term imprisonment by a Revolutionary Court in Teheran (A/HRC/16/53/Add.1, paras. 185-196; Opinion No. 34/2008 of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention). In Turkey, the Court of Cassation ruled to grant substantial parts of St. Gabriel Monastery (Mor Gabriel) to the Turkish Treasury; members of the Assyro-Chaldean community faced long-term difficulties in property and land registration procedures (A/HRC/18/51, p. 75). In Tajikistan, the authorities in Dushanbe demolished the city’s only synagogue in 2006, offering the congregation a plot of land on the edge of Dushanbe but without providing any other compensation to build the new synagogue (A/HRC/4/21/Add.1, paras. 279-285). In southern Russia, three confessions regarded as “traditional”, namely the Greek Orthodox, the Muslims and the Jews, had all failed to regain their places of worship ,which had been confiscated by the State in Communist times (E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1, paras. 318-326).