Kazakhstan: List of government restrictions on freedom of religion

Kazakhstan | 07 August 2019

On 19 July 2019, Forum 18 published a list of 104 prosecutions that occurred in the first six months of 2019. 92 of the cases ended in convictions. The prosecutions covered such activities as non-registered worship, evangelism and selling religious literature. Many of those targeted were Protestants (especially Council of Churches Baptists), Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses.‚ Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "It is important to note two things: i) The Kazakh authorities do not only target Christians; and ii) Forum 18"s list may well be just the tip of the iceberg. Of the 104 cases, 16 were fines known to have been summarily handed down by police, so the total number could be a lot higher. The prosecutions listed here are however sufficient to show that the government is working hard to restrict the freedom of religion in the country. The new president, inaugurated in June 2019, is not expected to change this policy."