KAZAKHSTAN: “He was told not to sell religious literature”
 
ICC Note:
Religious affairs officials are cracking down on individuals selling religious literature without a state license. Nine of the twelve fines handed down in 2013 cost the average of two months’ salary. Amongst those affected by these, laws, raids and fines are Christians and Muslims.
By Felix Corley
11/4/2013 Kazakhstan (Forum 18)-… Selling or distributing religious literature and materials without a state license is illegal under Article 5, Part 4 of the Religion Law (see F18News 23 September 2011 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1617). A nationwide crackdown on bookshops committing this “offence” has been carried out, and the licensing system has been rigorously implemented by regional Akimats (administrations). For example, Kostanai Region (with about 900,300 people) has only two such licensed bookshops. All Islamic literature that is not Sunni Hanafi is banned (see F18News 21 February 2013http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1804).
The crackdown on commercial selling of religious literature without a state licence has been led by police and Prosecutor’s Offices across Kazakhstan. On 30 October, the Prosecutor’s Office in the commercial capital Almaty noted that it had issued 24 warnings to traders after inspections by its officials found religious literature on sale “in unapproved venues, including in markets, around stations and around places of worship”.
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In March, an outcry ensued across Kazakhstan after a court ordered the destruction of 121 Bibles and other Christian literature confiscated from a Baptist, Vyacheslav Cherkasov. Asked how such destructions would be carried out, a Justice Ministry told Forum 18 that “most likely the books would be burnt” (see F18News 14 March 2013 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1813). Although Cherkasov’s fine was upheld on appeal, the destruction of the books was cancelled by the Regional Court (see F18News 10 April 2013 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1822).
Shchuchinsk fines
Two women in Shchuchinsk in the northern Akmola Region were given large fines in May after police found six Christian religious books at their shop at the town market.
Akmola Region (about 733,000 people) has six state-licensed bookshops for religious material.
Trouble began for Natalya Arkhipova on 22 January. Police raided the School Student shop she owns at Shchuchinsk’s Central Market and discovered six Christian books on sale. They confiscated the books in the presence of two women they had brought as official witnesses. Police noted that Arkhipova’s shop was not among the two shops in Shchuchinsk (population about 44,000) approved to sell religious literature in the 26 September 2012 decree by Akmola Region’s Akim (head of administration).
On 25 January, police ruled that no criminal offence had been committed. Galina Bessmertnaya of the Regional Akimat’s Religious Affairs Department then drew up a record of an offence under Administrative Code Article 375, Part 1 for “illegally” distributing religious literature.
Both Arkhipova and the sales assistant in the shop at the time of the raid, Tatyana Pyankova, were found guilty by Judge Damir Shamuratov at Burabai District Court in separate hearings on 2 May. Bessmertnaya of the Religious Affairs Department told the court in both hearings that on 4 February her office had conducted an “expert analysis” of the six books and found that “they were of religious content and were not banned in the Republic of Kazakhstan”.
Both Arkhipova and Pyankova told their hearings that they did not know they were not allowed to sell religious books. Despite this, Arkhipova was fined 100 MFIs or about two months’ average salary, while Pyankova was fined 50 MFIs, according to the verdicts seen by Forum 18. The court ruled that “as the books are not banned for sale in Kazakhstan”, they should be returned to Arkhipova as the owner.
Both Arkhipova and Pyankova appealed against the fines. However, in separate hearings on 28 May, Akmola Regional Court rejected their appeals, according to the verdicts seen by Forum 18.
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