Tag: Astana

Kazakhstan Baptist convicted for refusing to pay state ‘expert’ to analyse his Christian books

November 6, 2017 Kazakhstan Akmola, Astana, Baptists, Censorship, Jehovah's Witnesses, Kazakhstan, Religious freedom, UN

Handing out Christian literature in Kazakhstan comes at a price. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

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 . . . Read More

Kazakhstan releases Christian imprisoned ‘as message to Muslims thinking about converting’

November 2, 2017 Kazakhstan Astana, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Yklas Kabduakasov

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 . . . Read More

Kazakh Baptists raided, fined on Easter Sunday as ‘illegal’

May 4, 2017 Kazakhstan Almaty, Astana, Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Russia, Uyghurs

Police raided meetings of at least two Baptist Churches on Easter Sunday. The protestant communities draw attention because they they choose to hold their church services without seeking state registration "out of conviction".

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 . . . Read More

Kazakhstan church raids a ‘backward step’

May 24, 2016 Kazakhstan Almaty, Astana, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Pentecostals, Protestants

A policeman is filmed during the Good Friday raid on New Life church in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Photo: Maxim Maximov / YouTube

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 . . . Read More

2 years’ labour for Kazakh Christian

January 6, 2016 Kazakhstan Astana, Baptists, Churches, Kazakhstan, Seventh-day Adventists, Yklas Kabduakasov

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 . . . Read More

Kazakh Christian could face 10 years in jail

October 14, 2015 Kazakhstan Astana, Central Asia, Islamic extremism, Kazakhstan, Seventh-day Adventists, Yklas Kabduakasov

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 . . . Read More

Retired Kazakh pastor given suspended jail sentence

February 18, 2014 Kazakhstan Almaty, Astana, Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev

The protracted trial of a retired Kazakh pastor ended yesterday (Feb. 17), as 67-year-old Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev was handed a suspended four-year prison sentence and a fine. Kashkumbayev, former pastor of Grace Church in the Kazakh capital Astana, was ordered to pay 2 million Tenge (€7,900) in damages to Lyazzat Almenova, . . . Read More

Kazakh pastor’s trial halts amid heated arguments

January 31, 2014 Kazakhstan Almaty, Astana, Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, Protestants

Bakhytzhan KashkumbayevWorld Watch Monitor The trial of a 67-year-old pastor in Kazakhstan halted amid heated arguments on Wednesday (January 29), as the pastor and his lawyer stormed out of the courtroom, even after two of his original charges were dropped. The pastor and his lawyer say the whole court . . . Read More

Kazakh pastor’s trial begins

January 24, 2014 Kazakhstan Astana, Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, Kazakhstan

The trial against 67-year-old Kazakh pastor Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev has started, eight months after his incarceration for allegedly “harming the health” of a member of his congregation. The pastor has also been accused of inciting hatred, propagating extremism and leading an organisation that harms others. If found guilty, he could face . . . Read More

Kazakh pastor’s trial postponed

November 20, 2013 Kazakhstan Astana, Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, Kazakhstan

The court hearing for a Kazakh pastor detained since May has been pushed back again. Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, 67, pastor of Grace Protestant Church in Astana, is charged with the psychological manipulation of a member of his congregation through the use of a “red-coloured hallucinogenic drink”. Other members of the congregation . . . Read More

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