Kazakhstan’s repressive government seeks to control all areas of life. Religious freedom has been further restricted by recent legislation, while the government is using the threat of militant Islam as a pretext to clamp down. Converts to Christianity from a Muslim background come under the most pressure – from the government, family, friends and wider community. Churches that are active in evangelism are subjected to raids, threats, arrests and fines – especially if the church has not been registered.
Kazakhstan Baptist convicted for refusing to pay state ‘expert’ to analyse his Christian books
A court in northern Kazakhstan has given a Baptist man a one-year suspended prison sentence for refusing to pay fines for the state to give its “expert analysis” of Christian books he had with him at the time of his arrest. Yuri Bekker had also failed to pay outstanding fines […]
Kazakhstan releases Christian imprisoned ‘as message to Muslims thinking about converting’
Kazakhstan has released a 56-year-old man imprisoned for more than two years to dissuade other Muslims from converting to Christianity, reports Christian persecution charity Voice of the Martyrs. Yklas Kabduakasov, a father of eight, was arrested in August 2015 on a charge of “inciting religious hatred”. Police confiscated Christian books […]
Kazakhstan proposes further restrictions on religion
Kazakhstan has drafted amendments to its religion laws that will further tighten restrictions on religious freedoms, reports regional news agency Forum 18. The changes focus on the religious freedom of children and parents and could reach parliament for ratification as early as December. The latest October draft states that one […]
Kazakhstan church banned for singing songs at summer camp
A church in Kazakhstan has been banned from meeting because its members sang religious songs at a summer camp, reports regional news service Forum 18. The three-month ban – yet to come into force because of an appeal – was imposed on the New Life Protestant Church in Oskemen, eastern […]
Kazakhstan deports missionary for conducting baptisms
Kazakhstan has ordered the expulsion of a Canadian citizen for conducting “illegal missionary activity” by holding baptisms in hot springs near the country’s commercial capital, Almaty. Hae Taik Kim, a Canadian citizen who leads a church in New York, was also fined 226,900 Tenge (US$680) – about two months’ average […]
Kazakhstan: closure of Jehovah’s Witnesses operation is sign of creeping religious intolerance
Kazakhstan’s decision to suspend operations at the headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is a symptom of the country’s growing intolerance towards religious rights, and particularly Christianity, writes Casey Michel in The Diplomat. Jehovah’s Witnesses, who had operated in Kazakhstan for 25 years with 18,000 followers, reacted by expressing concern that […]
Kazakh Baptists raided, fined on Easter Sunday as ‘illegal’
Tammar leads a church of young Uyghurs in Kazakhstan. On Easter Sunday, as 20 of them gathered, there was a sudden police raid, including members of the anti-terrorist team. All 20 had to sign a form saying they were at this ‘illegal’ meeting, and Tammar was fined $900. At first, he wouldn’t […]
Kazakhstan church raids a ‘backward step’
Recent raids on Christians’ homes and churches in Kazakhstan are a “backward step”, following the positive strides made by the Kazakhstan President in recent years, according to a religious freedom expert in the country. Kevin White, research fellow and country director at the Almaty-based Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, says […]
2 years’ labour for Kazakh Christian
A Kazakh Christian has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment at a labour camp, after an initial seven-year sentence of restricted freedom at home went to an appeal. Yklas Kabduakasov, 54, a Seventh-day Adventist, was convicted of inciting religious hatred while talking to others about his faith. He and his […]
Kazakh Christian could face 10 years in jail
A Seventh-day Adventist in Kazakhstan could face between five and 10 years in prison if convicted of “spreading religious discord”. Yklas Kabduakasov, 54, was arrested in August, after a year of police surveillance and the secret filming of a conversation between him and four Muslim students. His trial began in […]