Official newspapers pursue a campaign against religious communities and believers, such as Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses. One of their accusations is that the latter "turn children into zombies". Victims of slander have no chance to reply. In one case, defamatory articles led to four Christians losing their job.
According to Forum 18, a news service committed to documenting violations of religious freedom in Central Asia, various articles and editorials have appeared, attacking people who demand the right to religious freedom. What is more, victims are denied the right to reply to articles that contain unsubstantiated slanderous and defamatory content.
In one particularly telling case, a judge fined religious believers based on false information found in a number of articles. More generally, newspapers like to allege that those who practice faith use brainwashing techniques to "turn children into zombies".
