E/CN.4/2001/0063 page 35 134. It is alleged that on 14 November 1999 the National Security Committee ordered a raid on the Baptist congregation of the Council of Evangelical Baptist Churches during the Sunday sermon. On 13 February 2000, the Committee reportedly interrupted a private religious meeting organized by the Baptist pastor Vitaly Tereshnev, on the grounds that the meeting was illegal. The pastor was apparently fined and his passport confiscated. On 2 February 2000, the Baptist pastor Anatoly Belyayev is said to have been arrested by members of the National Security Committee while he was peacefully performing his religious activities. On 11 March 2000, this pastor and his family were reportedly deported to Moscow. On 13 March 2000, the Senkin and Shulgin families, active members of the Baptist congregation of the Town of Mary, are also alleged to have been deported. 135. In March 2000, the Protestant pastor Shokhrat Piriyev was reportedly forced to leave Ashgabat on the pretext that his residence permit was not valid. 136. In addition, it is reported that no civilian alternative to military service is provided for conscientious objectors, who are liable to imprisonment under the Penal Code. 137. Vitaly Tereshin, a Baptist missionary, was reportedly arrested and deported in August 2000. 138. The Russian Orthodox Church and Sunni communities enjoy legal recognition, whereas the authorities have apparently refused to register other communities, especially religious minorities. The law stipulates a membership threshold of 500 persons as a criterion for registration. However, the authorities reportedly make it difficult for communities which satisfy this criterion to register, in some cases coercing people to retract their declaration of membership. In other cases, the authorities apparently interpret this criterion to mean 500 members locally rather than nationwide. Turkey 139. On 1 March 2000, two Christians (converted Muslims), Necati Aydin and Ercan Sengul, members of the Ismir Fellowship of Jesus Christ, are said to have been arrested as they sold and distributed Bibles and other Christian literature in Kemalpasa, near Izmir. The prosecutor reportedly accused them of forcing people to accept the Bibles and of insulting Islam. It seems the local mufti submitted a report to the prosecutor explaining that the material confiscated from the two Christians did not contain any anti-Islamic elements. However, it was apparently emphasized that passages in Aydin’s personal notebook concerning the meaning of “Allah” and “Jehovah” and other names for God were the essence of falsehood and slander against religion. These arrests reportedly occurred one day after the broadcast on channel D, on Ugur Dundar’s “Arena” show, of a television programme on Christian missionary sects, which appears to have propagated the message that Christianity is a threat. 140. Turkey replied that, according to the information transmitted by the Ministry of Justice, Mr. Aydin and Mr. Sengul had been acquitted on 11 May 2000 by the Kemalpasa criminal court. 141. While noting the acquittal of the two accused, the Special Rapporteur requests the Turkish Government to inform him of planned measures to ensure that certain media outlets