Christians in Former-Soviet Central Asian Nations Increasingly Face PersecutionJune 12, 2025 — 6/12/2025 Central Asia (International Christian Concern) — Formerly part of the USSR, the five “stan” countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — have a mix of ex-Soviet authoritarianism...
Deported for Christian Kindness: Kazakhstan Remains in QuestionMay 13, 2019 — [vc_custom_heading text="" use_theme_fonts="yes"][vc_custom_heading text="By Kevin White" font_container="tag:h6|text_align:left" use_theme_fonts="yes" css=".vc_custom_1557754325119{margin-bottom: 22px !important;}"][vc_single_image image="99994" img_size="full" add_caption="yes" alignment="center"] 05/13/2019 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – In 2000, Victoria Charbonneau left her home in Richmond, Virginia to travel...
Christians in Kazakhstan Experience Crackdown by PoliceMarch 10, 2019 — 03/10/2019 Kazakhstan (International Christian Concern) – Christians in Taraz, Kazakhstan are experiencing a crackdown by local police as they try to gather for worship. According to Forum 18, police in...
Kazakhstan Continues to Increase Restrictions on Religious FreedomSeptember 11, 2018 — ICC Note: According to Forum 18, violations of religious freedom continue to increase in Kazakhstan. Unfair trials and torture of prisoners are just some of the tactics used by the...
No One Knows What’s in Kazakhstan’s Mystery Religious AmendmentJune 5, 2018 — ICC Note: Kazakhstan is seeking to amend its Religion Law which requires religious groups to register in order to operate legally. The Majilis, the lower house in Kazakhstan’s parliament, approved...
Kazakh President to Receive Lifetime Authority with New BillJune 4, 2018 — ICC Note: The draft of a new bill allowing Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbaev to remain the head of Kazakhstan’s Security Council for life was recently passed by the upper house...
Kazakh Institute Requests Personal Information on Minors from Selected ChurchesApril 12, 2018 — ICC Note: An institute in Kazakhstan has requested selected Christian places of worship to provide the personal data of anyone under the age of 18 who attends worship. It is...
Church Shut Down for Not Having Enough Fire DetectorsMarch 18, 2018 — ICC Note: A court in Kazakhstan fined Shymkent’s New Life Protestant Church and forced them to shut down for one month. The reason: only having three fire detectors in an...
Is Downloading a Bible App Illegal in Kazakhstan?March 17, 2018 — ICC Note: On March 13, a court in Kazakhstan found a Christian woman “not guilty” of illegal missionary activity. The lady had helped someone install a Bible app on a...
“No Light at the End of the Tunnel”: One Pastor’s Escape from PersecutionMarch 15, 2018 — By Amy Penn 03/15/2018 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – He spends his time checking over two shoulders, one for each of his pursuers. Over one shoulder, Pastor Ravil surveils...
Leaders Recognize Religious Radicalization as Problem in Central Asian StatesMarch 5, 2018 — ICC Note: From February 22-23, 2018, five Central Asian and European Union leaders met to discuss the most pressing issues surrounding Central Asia. One of the topics included religious radicalization....
In 2017, Kazakhstan Punishes Over 300 People for Practicing Their FaithJanuary 31, 2018 — ICC Note: Forum 18 reports that Kazakhstan had a busy 2017 in terms of squashing religious freedom. The primarily Sunni Muslim country punished hundreds of religious minorities including Christians, Jehovah’s...
Kazakhstan Preparing to Restrict Religious Freedom Even MoreDecember 1, 2017 — ICC Note: Kazakhstan’s laws are filled with restrictions on religious freedom that have been criticized by international organizations and human rights defenders. In 2016, the UN Human Rights Committee called...
Christians in Kazakhstan Fined for Going to Church MeetingNovember 30, 2017 — ICC Note: Despite Kazakhstan’s constitutional guarantee to freely exercise one’s faith, a group of 20 Baptists were fined for “participation in an unregistered, halted or banned religious community or social...
Christian in Kazakhstan Fined and Threatened for Practicing His FaithNovember 7, 2017 — ICC Note: Despite Kazakhstan’s constitutional guarantee to freely exercise one’s faith, a Baptist man, Yuri Bekker, was arrested in 2015 for handing out religious literature to people in a market...
Jehovah Witnesses in Kazakhstan Facing Punishment for Sharing FaithFebruary 7, 2017 — ICC Note: Teymur Akhmedov and Asaf Guliyev, two Jehovah's Witnesses, were arrested in Kazakhstan after sharing their faith. KNB informers disguised as university students claim the men "spoke negatively about...
