New Kazakh laws to further restrict freedom of religion

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed two new laws Oct. 13 imposing severe restrictions on freedom of religion or belief.

The two laws have attracted strong criticism from civil society organizations, human rights defenders and many religious communities in Kazakhstan, as well as from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which the country chaired in 2010.

Both new laws were expected to come into force Oct. 24. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) spokesman Jens Eschenbaecher said the ODIHR was disappointed that the laws were signed into force.

“The legislation appears to unnecessarily restrict the freedom of religion or belief and is poised to limit the exercise of this freedom in Kazakhstan,” he said. Nazgul Yergalieva of the Almaty-based Legal Policy Research Center said that “strict regulation and limitation of fundamental rights, such as freedom of religion, by governments has already proved to be a dangerous path, leading to social tension and resentment.”