Seven Baptists Face Heavy Fines for Unregistered Worship in Kazakhstan
ICC NOTE: Kazakhstan continues to target Christian minorities who have failed to register with the state and proceed to conduct worship and prayer services. According to Article 490 part 1 of the Administrative Code religious activity is against the law unless their group or organization is registered with the proper authorities. In July of 2016, Russia followed in a similar manner with the “missionary activity” portion of its latest anti-terror law. The latest action was taken toward seven members of a local Baptist group in East Kazakhstan where they are planned to be in court on August 25th to determine whether they will be fined. While a fine does not sound to be a major punishment, the amount under the law is the equivalent of around seven weeks of work for the average working Kazakh.
8/18/2016 Kazakhstan (Forum 18) – In hearings throughout the morning of 25 August, Judge Aigul Saduakasova in East Kazakhstan Region is set to decide whether or not to punish seven local Baptists for meeting for worship without state permission. Their small congregation was raided twice in early August. Two of those facing possible fines – Olga Berimets and Zoya Tobolina – are 79 years old.
If punished, the 79-year-old pensioners would not be the oldest known victims of such punishments for exercising the right to freedom of religion or belief. On 22 May, at the age of 89 and a half, former Soviet-era Baptist prisoner of conscience Yegor Prokopenko was again fined for leading a meeting for worship in Zyryanovsk in East Kazakhstan Region. A police officer fined him 100 Monthly Financial Indicators (MFIs), 212,100 Tenge. This represents about seven weeks’ average wages for those in work, but far more for pensioners like Prokopenko (see F18News 14 June 2016 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2188).
Yakov Skornyakov – another Baptist and former Soviet-era freedom of religion or belief prisoner of conscience – was also 79 when he was given a massive fine for his religious activity in 2006, two years before his death (see F18News 13 April 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=759).