A/HRC/10/8/Add.4 page 14 37. Since 2007, the situation has generally improved and no more destruction of places of worship seems to have occurred. For instance, the building of a Russian Orthodox church in Dashoguz has recently resumed. It had started in 2003 but had been suspended, apparently on the grounds of technical problems over the use of land, until the local authorities agreed to lift the suspension in 2008. 38. Nonetheless, religious communities are still not free from State interference, regardless of articles 15 and 19 of the Religious Organizations Law, which allow religious organizations to possess buildings, structures under construction and other property needed to ensure their activities, as well as to freely establish and maintain accessible places of religious service or religious ceremonies. In practice, there are still numerous tight restrictions imposed by the authorities on the building, opening, renting and use of such facilities for a number of registered and unregistered religious communities. For instance, some religious communities which do not possess their own places of worship have to rent public venues, such as cafes or restaurants in order to meet. Owners who have once accepted to rent their venues have however been pressured by the authorities to refrain from doing so again. As a result, it has become very difficult for these religious groups to find public meeting places. 39. The Special Rapporteur would like to recall that in its resolution 62/157, the General Assembly had urged States to “ensure, in particular, the right of all persons to worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief and to establish and maintain places for these purposes”. In addition, the Special Rapporteur stated in her 2005 report to the Commission on Human Rights (see E/CN.4/2005/61, paras. 51-52), that places of worship are an essential element of the manifestation of the right to freedom of religion or belief to the extent that the great majority of religious communities or communities of belief need the existence of a place of worship where their members can manifest their faith. Moreover, unlike other forms of violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief, restrictions on places of worship or other religious sites in many cases violate the right not only of a single individual, but the rights of a group of individuals forming the community that is attached to the place in question. 40. According to article 19 of the Religious Organizations Law, religious services rituals and ceremonies can be, if necessary for ritual reasons, held at homes of citizens. While some religious organizations have been allowed to hold religious meetings in private places, in practice, however, a number of religious meetings in private homes of registered and unregistered communities have actually led to raids and fines. The Special Rapporteur received information on the recent case of a believer who had been summoned by the authorities in Ashgabat, while he was on his way to a private meeting. E. Religious material 41. While the Religious Organizations Law allows citizens of Turkmenistan and religious organizations to acquire, purchase and use religious material, the Special Rapporteur received information on religious material being confiscated from believers who were summoned and investigated by the authorities, while they were on their way to or attending a religious gathering. 42. Imports of religious material are also tightly controlled. According to article 20 of the Religious Organizations Law, delivery and dissemination of religious literature published abroad shall be conducted upon the expert assessment of its content by the Council on Religious Affairs.