E/CN.4/2004/63 page 11 United Arab Emirates 44. See paragraph 39 of the interim report. 45. In a letter dated 25 August 2003, the Government confirmed that the Reverend Fernando Alconga had been sentenced to one year in prison and expulsion from the country for “attacking Islam and proselytizing for another religion”. The sentence was suspended for three years. Eritrea 46. Three Jehovah’s Witnesses who refused to do their military service have reportedly been held incommunicado without being charged since 1994. A number of Jehovah’s Witnesses are allegedly in prison at present for the same reason, despite their willingness to do alternative community service. United States of America 47. See paragraphs 40 to 48 of the interim report. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 48. A Serbian Orthodox bishop was reportedly arrested on 20 July 2003 for attempting to perform a baptism in a Macedonian Orthodox church and sentenced to five days in solitary confinement. Other incidents involving representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church have also been reported since the collapse of talks between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Macedonian Orthodox Church in June 2002. Russian Federation 49. The first communication is dealt with in paragraphs 49 and 50 of the interim report. 50. In a letter dated 19 June 2003, the Government replied that the decisions taken in 2002 with the aim of preventing certain foreigners from entering the country were in no way linked to their religious activities but were a consequence of violations of the legislation on the status of foreigners. 51. The second communication concerns reports that the Moscow police stopped an open-air Baptist service on 26 July 2003. One member of the congregation claims that incidents like this are a normal part of everyday life for church members. Baptists, who refuse to register, have no legal status and are not allowed to rent buildings in which to hold their acts of worship. It is reported that many of their services were stopped during the summer, books were confiscated and some church members were arrested. Fiji 52. The church of the majority in the country is reportedly in favour of regulating the registration of religious groups because of the growing number of “religious sects”. In this context, the authorities are apparently determined to make it as difficult as possible for religious