US warning on Russian religious freedom

A United States Congress commission has warned that religious freedom in Russia is in danger of deteriorating markedly.

In its first annual report, the Commission on International Religious Freedom, set up in 1998 to monitor religious freedom around the world, said that Russia's 1997 Religion Law was a significant step backwards because it made it harder for new religious organisation to operate.

The report also accused Russia of using anti-Muslim propaganda in the war in Chechnya.

The members of the commission, which includes Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Bahai religious leaders, recommended a continued monitoring of the situation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service