An INQUIRY
REGARDING A RIGHT TO FREELY PRACTICE RELIGION

   We, citizens of Lithuania, pursuing RL Constitution, RL Law on Religious Communities and Associations and European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (EHRC Art. 9) practice meditative religion in a private house located at the address Pavasario str. 21 d, Vilnius. A request to register a religious community Osho Ojas Meditation Center and its residence place at the address Pavasario str. 21 d, Vilnius was submitted to the RL Ministry of Justice even on March 12, 2003, by this group and other people who acknowledge that they are group practicing the same meditative religion.

   On August 5, 2003, while religious practices were conducted at the residence place of the community, the employees of Vilnius County State Tax Inspectorate (STI) together with policemen intruded into the premises and started hindering our meditation, conducting religious practices. They explained that our practices are not religious, that this is not a religious community and what is a religious community, harassed and demanded us to admit that the meditative religion we practice is not a religion, and without any understanding what is happening in the meditation center, following an order of a tax administrator of Vilnius County STI, attributed Metchislovas Vrubliauskas, a spiritual master of the community undergoing registration, to the business and economy employees, this way falsifying a protocol of administrative infringement, according to which, Vilnius First Local Court imposed a fine of 1000 Litas on him.

   Clerks of STI invasion group asserted that they can lay down all of us, frightened people - if disobedience would be shown, they would take them to the police, by misleading people ordered them to sign falsified explanations, explained what had to be written, and a part of puzzled people, who have not seen similar things even in the times of soviet dictatorship, were confused. Later on they did not have a chance to specify their words and submitted to STI declarations of 17 people, who were practicing, were concealed.

    A head of Vilnius County STI Birute Jurgelevitchiene when answering an appeal claim of M.VrubliauskasNov 25, 2003 in her Response to Vilnius Supreme Administrative Court, asserts about meditative religion: “<…> Meditation as a state of deep concentration, immersing into thoughts, can not be treated as separate religion. It is noted that Osho Ojas Meditation Center has not been registered so far in the Ministry of Justice as religious community; therefore it cannot use all benefits for the religious communities provided for in laws. <…> Thus, namely community’s registration shows that religion confessed by it is recognized and does not violate requirements of laws. Therefore, the conclusion is to be made that only registered communities have the right to use all rights of religious communities and only teachers of such communities can be treated as priests and an income they receive from donations are tax free.
      Secondly, it is seen from the information brochures of Osho Ojas meditation center in the case, that this is not a religious community, <…>”

    Meditation that is practiced in the center is a state of very deep relaxation and a state of very high surfacing out of thoughts to the very thoughtless consciousness and is a foundation of various meditative methods and meditative religions as Zen-Buddhism, (in Japan), Chan-Buddhism (in China), Jainism (in India) and etc., and the aforementioned statements given by the head of STI, “religious researcher” B.Jurgelevitchiene, are only interpretations and imaginations that resemble inquisitional Middle Ages.

   Currently, the individuals who were terrorized by RL force structures, when knew that their explanations and statements were concealed, submitted them once again to Vilnius County STI and wait for answers.

   Without aforementioned acts of violence and abuse of RL force structures, there were more of them, and they continue so far. It is to be regretted but some force structures, which give explanations and act clearly inquisitionally, are supported by some inquisitional means of press, word and view broadcasting, that create and keep a spiritual atmosphere of lie and discrimination. Due to this one girl who practices meditative religion was forcefully locked up in psychiatric hospital and was not allowed home because did not renounce meditations. For the other one, a defendant Ilona Gineitiene by the July 14, 2003 decision of judge N.Venskiene “it is prohibited without a plaintiff’s (Vilmantas Gineitas - author’s remark) agreement to take out her daughters from their residence place<…>” where they lived kidnapped by father, because “the plaintiff indicates that the defendant is a follower of a non-traditional religious practice, actively takes part in activities of Osho Ojas Meditation Center<…>” and etc.

   Having a regard to such discriminative situation of violence, force and terror of RL authority structures against those who have not committed any smallest misbehavior due to which it could be prohibited to practice religion pursuant to RL Constitution, laws and EHRC (Art. 9), we ask RL Ministry of Justice to explain:

1. Whether individuals alone in Lithuania in their own home can practice religious practices and invite priests and spiritual masters to conduct them?

2. Whether a head of STI or other executives or clerks of force structures can decide that individuals who practice religious practices in their own or friends’ homes or spiritual masters that lead them, do not practice religion, are not spiritual masters, and behave with them as with criminals?

3. Whether individuals alone, when there are more than 15 of them, in order not to be terrorized by authority institutions, similar to STI, must to register as religious community?

4. Whether a head of STI or other executives of force structures can decide what religion is?

5. Can a head of STI or other executives or clerks of force structures decide that this is not a religion and to attribute individuals to people of business, sport or participants of other activities when individuals alone practice religion according to laws of RL and assert that they practice religious practices?

6. Can a head of STI or other executives of force structures decide whether a community meets the conditions of religious community?

7. Who in Lithuania can decide what religion is?

Respectfully,

On behalf of a religious community Osho Ojas Meditation Center undergoing registration

Metchislovas Vrubliauskas…………………………………………

Participants of aforementioned religious practice of August 5, 2003, terrorized by STI:

………………..……………………Ruta Urbonaite,

………..……...…….Gerimantas Vaiciukevitchius,

……………………………….…Arunas Radziunas,

…………………..……………..…Ingrida Ivanciute