KAZAKHSTAN: Christians may face more restrictions
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World Evangelical Alliance (18.08.2011) / HRWF (18.08.2011) - http://www.hrwf.net - The government of the former Soviet nation of Kazakhstan seems to be fostering the fear of Islamist extremism to further restrict civil rights, including religious freedom, WEA-RLC has learnt. It appears that the Kazakh parliament, a rubber stamp for President Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev, is preparing to strengthen the government's grip over religious groups and activities.
In Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country, all religious groups are required to register with the government. Under Administrative Code Articles 374-1 and 375, local authorities can penalize activities of unregistered organizations with fines or detention. And the Ministry of Justice can deny registration on the basis of an insufficient number of members or if its charter violates the law. In addition, the Law on Extremism empowers the government to designate a group as an extremist organization, ban its activities and penalize its members.
As if this was not sufficient, the Kazakh parliament in 2008 passed the "Law on Amendments and Additions to Several Legislative Acts on Questions of Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations," increasing the harshness of penalties for unregistered religious activities. However, the constitutional court annulled the amendment.
It is this amendment that may be re-introduced, albeit with a change in the terminology perhaps, as the issue is found in the 2011 schedule of the parliament. And to apparently make the country's environment conducive for further repression, Islamist extremism is being projected as a major threat.
