ASTANA, Kazakhstan — A new law adopted by Kazakhstan’s Parliament Nov. 26 will seriously restrict freedom of religion or belief, according to Forum 18 News Service.
Among the new restrictions on human rights, the current form of the law would for the first time explicitly ban unregistered religious activity. It would also ban anyone from sharing their beliefs without both the written backing of a registered religious association and also personal state registration as a missionary. It would require permission from both parents for children to attend any religious event.
Small “religious groups” — the lowest level of registered community — would only be authorized to carry out religious activity with existing members and would not be allowed to maintain places of worship “open to a wide access.” Nor would they be allowed to conduct missionary activity. Apart from a few personal items, all religious literature imported into the country would require approval through a “religious expert assessment.”
Immediate concerns were expressed by Kazakh human rights defenders as well as Baptist, Lutheran, Hare Krishna and Ahmadi Muslim representatives. “We expect persecution in the future because of this very harsh law, not just on us but on others too,” Baptist pastor Yaroslav Senyushkevich said. “It will be like under Stalin.”
Archbishop Tomasz Peta, who leads the Catholic diocese in Astana, said, “We hope the president — who will have the last word on this — won’t allow Kazakhstan after 17 years to return to the path of restrictions on religious freedom.”
Ambassador Janez Lenarcic of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said he hopes President Nursultan Nazarbaev “will use his constitutional power to allow for a more transparent and inclusive law-making process that would lead to the adoption of legislation fully reflecting OSCE commitments and other international standards.”
Share with others: