The Public Defender is responding to the media reports, according to which, law enforcement officers blocked the entrance to a building where representatives of the Muslim community started performing prayers in the village of Mokhe, Adigeni. The building belongs to the Adigeni municipality. The Muslim community believes that the building is a mosque, though no decision has yet been made on the ownership of the building by a special commission that has been studying the issue of the disputed building for 2 years.

As Muslims say, they started to pray in the disputed building due to the fact that they do not have access to any other building, where they can perform religious rites.

The Public Defender notes that one of the expressions of freedom of religion is access to a place of worship and opportunity to pray together with others, but the Muslim community cannot enjoy this right. Hindrance to the realization of freedom of religion by certain religious communities or individuals leads to an unequal situation and, in some cases, constitutes discrimination on grounds of religion.

It is important that confrontation between the locals of the village over the issue of the disputed building took in 2014, though since then the state has not taken effective measures to eliminate the cause of the conflict, which may at any time serve as grounds for tension.

The Public Defender calls on the Government to quickly resolve the issue of the disputed building and to define a place of worship in the village of Mokhe that will be acceptable for the Muslim community and will not create grounds for religious confrontation. In addition, the Public Defender will closely monitor the process of providing a place of worship for the Muslim community.