Kazakhstan is at a Critical Point of Decision

By Kevin White

Kazakhstan is a nation with great promise and potential. While Kazakhstan enjoys a wealth of natural resources, we must also realize that in order to truly be successful, we also need the moral and spiritual foundation upon which success and prosperity can be achieved. History has repeatedly demonstrated that the Christian faith produces a citizenry which is honest, law-abiding, hardworking and productive. In Almaty in 2003, South Korean businessmen and diplomats brilliantly argued in defense of Christianity at the Protestant Forum, sponsored by the Turkish Institute. They explained that as people in South Korean turned to Christianity, this produced an atmosphere which led to the huge growth in the South Korean economy. 

Kazakhstan is currently center stage for a growing international issue which will set precedence and have larger implications on Kazakhstan’s posture toward personal freedom and democracy. Makset Djabbarbergenov is an Uzbek Christian pastor wanted in his home country for "illegal" religious teaching and literature distribution. He has been arrested by Kazakhstan authorities who are currently considering his deportation back to Uzbekistan, in violation of international law. Djabbarbergenov has been given refugee status by the United Nations since 2007.

He is married with four boys, one of whom was born since the family's arrival in Kazakhstan. He and his wife are expecting their fifth child next spring.

Daniyar Zharykbasov of the prosecutor’s office told western news agency Forum 18 that the Uzbek authorities put Djabbarbergenov on a wanted list for the Commonwealth of Independent States on 29 February 2012 for a "crime" he committed in 2007. He stated that the Uzbek authorities are seeking to
imprison Djabbarbergenov because he led an unregistered Protestant church
in his home town of Nukus in Karakalpakstan. Zharykbasov then expressed
some sympathy for him. "As a person I can say this is not right…but we have to follow the rules.”

At the recent Religious Freedom and National Security Policy conference at Georgetown University, former National Security Council representative Will Imboden described how any erosion in a country's religious freedom invariably signals the erosion of all other liberties and human rights. Governments that are not committed to religious liberty become increasingly intolerant and coercive, insisting that they have a monopoly on truth that must be forced on others. Without religious freedom, democracy suffers, economic stagnation becomes inevitable.

In spite of Kazakhstan’s steps towards democracy and free market reforms, there remains still a Soviet-era mentality and mistrust towards the Christian faith. Consequently the government fails to realize the importance and profound benefits which the Christian faith has to offer society.

The American founding founders understood this in their framing of the constitution and the importance of religion. Thomas Jefferson wrote that “religion and morality are the safeguards of democracy.” Jefferson understood that religion and morality, fostered by religious conviction are the foundation for freedom and democracy.

The philosophical ideas of the Christian faith has permeated Western culture, and produced such a relatively just and civil society, where human rights and property are respected and protected. This influence has produced the moral climate which fostered conditions for the West to become the most prosperous economies in the world. 

Freedom and human rights, as expressed through the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and vote are what produce the vital sense of ownership of the nation by the people. This sense of ownership is what fosters the sense of social and civic responsibility, which motivates private citizens to make a great nation. It is this atmosphere of democracy in which business and free markets thrive.

In contrast to the West, Lenin built the Soviet Union upon an atheistic Marxism which was diametrically opposed to and viciously incompatible with Christianity. Lenin wrote: “There is nothing more abominable than religion,” and that under communism: “God does not exist, cannot exist, and must not exist.” Because of this predisposition against the Christian faith, the Soviet Union was deprived of the benefit of moral guidance and instruction provided by the Bible through the institution of the church.

Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote that the communists were determined to destroy Christianity. Atheism was not just the underlying worldview of Soviet socialism; atheism was the purpose of socialism. Solzhenitsyn wrote that the communists “flee from Christ like devils from the sign of the cross.”

Indeed ideas have consequences. Fyodor Dostoyevsky prophetically wrote: “if there is no God, then everything is permissible. Crime will be inevitable.” Atheism removed the basis of personal responsibility and accountability for behavior before God as well as society. Atheism removed any higher moral authority than one’s own. The natural consequence is the mentality of “every man for himself” and “survival of the fittest”, rather than by principle and rule of law. This can account for the lawlessness throughout the CIS, where mafia and corruption is so rampant. Georgian gangster and godfather of the Russian mafia Otari Kvantrishvili stated: “It was Vladimir Lenin who was the real organizer of the mafia and set up the criminal state.”

Dostoyevsky understood that if there is no God, then ultimately there can be no basis for morality and law, or for human rights. If there is no God, then we are just animals engaged in the Darwinist struggle: “survival of the fittest.”  In such case, people’s rights and property do not matter. If there is no God, then there is no higher governing principle, upon which to base justice. Law is then simply determined by power, money, or influence. This can only result in lawlessness, corruption, and injustice; which will ultimately lead to discontent, unrest, apathy, and economic stagnation.

History has demonstrated that Christianity has served to greatly develop civilization and culture. Charles Colson in his book How Now Shall We Live?, describes how the conversions of the barbarians to Christianity led to economic prosperity which Europe now enjoys. “As the barbarians were converted and the destructive invasions ceased, European society began to flourish. Cities grew, guilds emerged to protect the interests of the crafts and professions, and ideas of representative government took root. In this setting, Christianity gave birth to a new institution, the university, which developed from schools attached to the great cathedrals in places such as Paris and Bologna, eventually replacing the monasteries as centers of learning and culture.” It is also noteworthy, that seventeen of the first eighteen universities in America, including Harvard and Yale, were founded by the church. Indeed these are the economic benefits of Christianity.

In his speech to receive the Templeton Prize for Religion, Charles Colson stated that the Judeo-Christian heritage of America laid the foundation of freedom in the West. “It established a standard of justice over both men and nations. It has proclaimed a higher law that exposes the pretensions of tyrants. It has taught that every human soul is on a path of immortality, that every man and woman is to be treated as the child of a King.”

Colson continues, “This muscular faith has motivated excellence in art and discovery in science. It has under girded an ethic of work and an ethic of service. It has tempered freedom with internal restraint, so our laws could be permissive while our society was not. Christian conviction inspires public virtue, the moral impulse to do good. It has sent legions into battle against disease, oppression, and bigotry. It ended the slave trade, built hospitals and orphanages, and tamed the brutality of mental wards and prisons.”

In his book Victory of Reason, Rodney Stark quotes a recent statement from one of China’s leading scholars, “in the past twenty years, we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West is so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics.” Stark also describes how that these ideas are directly responsible for the development of free markets, science, technology, and industry.

Makset Djabbarbergenov is not a threat, but rather a hero. He is God’s messenger bringing the word of God to our society. We should not deport him, but embrace him and let him do his work, as well as the other pastors who are faithfully serving our nation. For it is the message they bring which will heal the soul of our nation. The Uzbek government does not appreciate this pastor because they do not appreciate the message he brings. We are not Uzbekistan. We are Kazakhstan, a nation of hospitality where all are welcome.

The answer for Kazakhstan, as well as any society, is not in revolution of war, but rather in the moral revolution of the human heart. It is found in spiritual and moral revival found in Jesus Christ. As individuals and nations are reconciled to God, people’s lives are changed and they become God’s moral agents to bring light and hope to a world of spiritual darkness and death. There are tangible economic benefits for those who heed the counsel of the manual given by the Designer.

Today is the call for a new beginning for Kazakhstan. In II Chronicles 7:14, God promises: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” It is the desire of God, not only to hear our prayers and forgive our sins, but it is also His desire to heal and to bless the nation of Kazakhstan. We must listen to the moral and spiritual guidance and instruction of His word. We must allow the churches to thrive and serve as the instrument for moral guidance for our society.  

It is time to forever shed the lies of Soviet-era atheism and to embrace the Christ, the savior of all peoples. Atheism and the persecution of Christianity will ultimately forfeit economic prosperity. Such prosperity can only occur in a climate of freedom, human rights, and rule of law. These virtues are fostered by the principles of Biblical Christianity permeating society. Indeed the ancient scripture, validated throughout the history of human experience, calls and invites Kazakhstan to return to God and His path: “Blessed is the nation, whose God is the Lord.” 

CBN: Russia's Fading Religious Freedom

MOSCOW -- A recent nighttime raid and destruction of an evangelical church outside Moscow raised concerns that religious freedom is fading in Russia.

That's because police simply watched as dozens of men with heavy machinery demolished the Holy Trinity Pentecostal congregation.

Some fear its part of a threatening pattern against Russia's evangelical Christians.

Authorities Raid Church

Sveta Romanyuk finds it difficult to talk about what happened the night of Sept. 6, 2012.

"What they did was not right. We didn't even have time to save the Bibles," she said.

On a recent morning on the edge of Moscow, 12-year-old Sveta and a handful of her friends held Sunday school on the steps of what used to be the entrance of their church.

"I want the people who did this to know I still love Christ and I am going to pray for them and our country," Sveta said.

In the early hours that September morning, about 45 men, backed by local Russian police, descended on Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church.

"I got here around 4 a.m. and saw two large excavators tearing through the church building," Zhidkov Maxim, who attends the church, said. "The police just stood and watched the whole thing."

**See behind the scenes photos from this story on George Thomas' Facebook page. Share your reaction to this report.

As word spread, other church members, like Alena Maltseva and her husband, rushed to try to save the church.

"I'll never forget the sound of my church being crushed," Maltseva said. "It was so painful."

Pastor Vasily Romanyuk also tried to stop the men but it was too late.

"When I tried to get into the territory I was stopped by drunk tough guys who introduced themselves as a vigilant group acting on behalf of the city district," said Pastor Romanyuk, who leads Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church. "They refused to show their IDs and papers."

By 3 a.m., the three-story building was in ruins.

"Unfortunately, what we are seeing today is nothing new. For decades evangelical Christians in Russia have experienced similar or worse," Pastor Romanyuk said.

Legal Government Battles

Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church became registered in the late 1970s while Soviets still ruled. In 1995, the church was forced out of its original building and moved to a site some 45 minutes outside Moscow.

The church erected a temporary building but battled authorities over building permits.

Pastor Romanyuk wanted to build a bigger, more permanent structure. Authorities refused. For 17 years, the city even prevented the church access to water and electricity.

Then in late August 2012, a district official notified Pastor Romanyuk that the church was slated for demolition.

"I never imagined they would actually do it," he said.

The brazen act stunned the evangelical community.

"They chose in front of the entire public, in front of the entire world, in Moscow, in the largest city in Russia, the capital, just to simply level the evangelical church making that statement," Sergey Rakhuba, with Russian Ministries, said.

Pattern of Discrimination

Romanyuk said he sees a pattern emerging.

"You talk to any evangelical leader in Russia and they will tell you this is all about ideology. The government and the Russian Orthodox Church view us evangelicals as a threat," he explained.

"They see our congregations growing, they see how dynamic our services are, and they are threatened by it," he said.

Even though the country's constitution states that all religions are equal before the law, the government is often accused of discriminating against citizens who profess faiths other than Orthodox Christianity.

Vladimir Ryakhovsky, a leading human rights lawyer in Moscow, said Holy Trinity's property and legal challenges are just part of an emerging pattern against Russian evangelicals.

"Bottom line: this is discrimination," Ryakhovsky, who runs the Slavic Center for Law & Justice, said. "This year alone, the government has given the Russian Orthodox Church 200 building permits and in many cases the government will help fund the new churches."

Cozy Orthodox Church-State Relations

And what evangelicals are most concerned about is the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church within the state apparatus. They accuse President Vladimir Putin of tearing down walls between church and state.

"Muslims from time to time will face similar challenges in trying to build mosques," Vasily Evchik, a Russian evangelical leader based in Moscow, said. "But you will never hear of an Orthodox church being bulldozed and ransacked in the middle of the night."

Back on the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, Romanyuk and the congregation are pressing forward. They're holding weekly services in a large tent next to the demolished church. There are reports the city wants to turn the land into a large sport complex.

"I never imagined in my life that I would go through such an experience," Pastory Romanyuk said. "But to tell you the truth I feel emboldened and full of hope, thanks to the prayers of Christians around the world."

Twelve-year-old Sveta is also hopeful.

"Since this happened I've been asking God to provide us a new place, a place we can continue to meet and share with others about the love of Christ," she said. "I know God will take care of us."

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15 years' jail for UNHCR-recognised refugee if deportation to Uzbekistan proceeds

Uzbekistan is now seeking to extradite detained UNHCR-recognised refugee Makset Djabbarbergenov from Kazakhstan on charges which carry a maximum 15 year jail term. The Protestant who fled to Kazakhstan is being sought by Uzbekistan for exercising freedom of religion or belief in his home town of Nukus. A Kazakh 15 October Almaty court decision, authorised further detention until 5 November. The Kazakh court also claimed that the Uzbek charges – which seek to prosecute exercising freedom of religion or belief – can be equated to terrorism-related charges in Kazakh law. Djabbarbergenov's wife has been stopped by Kazakh authorities from visiting him, she told Forum 18 News Service, as has a human rights defender who found he is being held in solitary confinement. The Supreme Court claims it cannot find an appeal he lodged in August. Also, Kazakhstan has yet to reply to a finding of the UN Committee Against Torture that it violated human rights obligations by extraditing to Uzbekistan a group of Muslim refugees and asylum seekers. Kazakhstan's current bid to join the UN Human Rights Council claims it would, if elected, "enhance the credibility and effectiveness of the Human Rights Council".

Court documents seen by Forum 18 News Service reveal that Uzbekistan is now seeking to extradite Protestant pastor Makset Djabbarbergenov from Kazakhstan on charges which carry a maximum 15 year prison term. A 15 October Almaty court decision, authorising further detention until 5 November, reveals that the Uzbek authorities have changed one of the two accusations to a charge carrying a punishment of between five and 15 years' imprisonment. An official from Kazakhstan's Almaty Prosecutor's Office told Forum 18 that they are still awaiting materials in the case from Uzbekistan's General Prosecutor's Office. An earlier 7 September Almaty court decision, authorising Djabbarbergenov's initial 40-day detention while Uzbekistan's extradition request was considered, spoke of two Uzbek Criminal Code charges, each carrying a maximum three-year term. The Kazakh Prosecutor's Office confirmed this to Forum 18 (see F18News 10 September 2012 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1739). Meanwhile, the Kazakh government has not yet responded to the United Nations Committee Against Torture. In June the Committee found that Kazakhstan had violated the rights of a group of Uzbek Muslims who were extradited to Uzbekistan in 2011, and asked for a response to this from Kazakhstan (see F18News 10 September 2012 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1739). "We want him freed" Djabbarbergenov's wife, Aigul Tleumuratova, complained to Forum 18 that it was only after the 15 October hearing (which she did not attend) that she too learnt that the Uzbek authorities are seeking to imprison her husband for up to 15 years. "We want him freed," she told Forum 18 from Kazakhstan's commercial capital Almaty on 28 October. "I and our older children are praying for him. We all miss him." Tleumuratova is expecting their fifth child next year. Djabbarbergenov is still being held in Almaty's Investigation Prison (LA 155/1). Tleumuratova has not seen her husband since his arrest on 5 September. "Last Tuesday [23 October] I wrote to the Prosecutor's Office asking to be allowed a meeting, but have heard nothing," she told Forum 18. "They say we are only allowed a meeting once a month, and you have to apply through the Prosecutor's Office." The address of the prison Djabbarbergenov is being held in is: Almaty Investigation Isolation Prison No. 1 LA 155/1 050004 Almaty Region Almaty Prospekt Seifullina 473 Kazakhstan In 2011, Tleumuratova along with the rest of Djabbarbergenov's family was denied refugee status by the Kazakh government. This was despite the fact that in 2008 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had formally recognised their status as refugees (see F18News 10 September 2012http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1739). Because the Kazakh government has denied her refugee status, Tleumuratova has no valid Kazakh government documents and so is unable to hand over parcels for her husband. However, she said friends have been able to pass on food and clothes too him in prison, as well as a Bible and medicines for a cold. Solitary confinement, attempted visits fail Tleumuratova tried to visit her husband on 11 September, but was denied access at the prison. They told her he was, like all new prisoners, being held in "quarantine", which had been extended from three days to ten. That same day, Ivar Dale, Regional Representative Central Asia of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, also tried to visit him. He too was denied access, but was taken to a woman only identified as "the boss" on the prison's second floor, as he told Forum 18 from Almaty. "The boss" told Dale that the Prosecutor's Office needs to give permission for any visit to Djabbarbergenov. "He is just sitting here, but they are the ones who have his case," she told him. "She had a file on him with some forms and fingerprints and such. I asked why it was necessary to have him in quarantine for as long as 10 days, as he had no personal items with him. She explained that during quarantine, the inmate is looked at by doctors, examined and so forth." Despite "the boss'" insistence to Dale that Djabbarbergenov's wife could pass on personal items for him, Dale told Forum 18 this was the opposite of what the guards had told Tleumuratova that same day. When she returned later in the day with a bag of items for her husband, it was again refused. "The boss" at the prison told Dale on 11 September that Djabbarbergenov would not be extradited for at least two or three months, "minimum", she kept repeating. Source

Pastor of the demolished church, Vasiliy Romanyuk

Protestant pastor has been arrested by the authorities of Kazakhstan

Makset Djabbarbergenov – a Protestant pastor wanted in his home country of Uzbekistan for "illegal" religious teaching and literature distribution – has been arrested by the authorities of Kazakhstan, where he sought refuge in 2007. He was detained after police held his sister-in-law for two weeks to find his whereabouts, family members told Forum 18 News Service. A court ordered on 7 September Djabbarbergenov be held in detention until Kazakhstan's General Prosecutor's Office decides whether to send him back. "As a person I can say this is not right," Daniyar Zharykbasov of Almaty's Bostandyk District Prosecutor's Office told Forum 18. "But we have to follow the rules." In June the United Nations Committee Against Torture condemned Kazakhstan for sending back 28 Uzbek Muslim refugees and asylum seekers in 2011. They were arrested on their return and at least some received long prison terms.

Djabbarbergenov, who is now 32, is married with four boys, one of whom was born since the family's arrival in Kazakhstan. His wife Aigul is expecting their fifth child next April.

Almaty's Bostandyk District Prosecutor Gani Seisembiev – who presented the detention suit to court – refused to discuss it. "I can't give any information by telephone," he told Forum 18 from Almaty on 10 September. He then put the phone down.

His assistant Daniyar Zharykbasov, who prepared the documentation in the case, told Forum 18 the Uzbek authorities put Djabbarbergenov on a wanted list for the Commonwealth of Independent States on 29 February 2012 for a "crime" he committed in 2007. "We have to respond to this request," he told Forum 18 on 10 September.

Askhat Primbetov, head of the Extradition Division of the International Co-operation Department at the General Prosecutor's Office, declined to comment on Djabbarbergenov's case. "When the documents arrive we will examine them and take a position," he told Forum 18 from the capital Astana on 10 September. "Until then we can't give any comment."

Wanted

Zharykbasov of Bostandyk District Prosecutor's Office told Forum 18 that the Uzbek authorities said Djabbarbergenov was wanted under Article 229-2 of the Uzbek Criminal Code, which punishes "violation of the procedure for teaching religion" and carries a maximum term of three years' imprisonment. He is also wanted under Article 244-3, which punishes "illegal production, storage, import or distribution of religious literature" and also carries a maximum term of three years' imprisonment.

Zharykbasov initially told Forum 18 the extradition case was not about religious activity. But told that the Uzbek authorities are seeking to imprison Djabbarbergenov because he led an unregistered Protestant church in his home town of Nukus in Karakalpakstan, Zharykbasov then expressed some sympathy for him. "As a person I can say this is not right," he told Forum 18. "But we have to follow the rules. We just collect the documentation, and Kazakhstan's General Prosecutor's Office will take the decision whether to extradite him or not."

Hunted

Djabbarbergenov had led a Pentecostal community in his home town of Nukus, the capital of Uzbekistan's autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan [Qoraqalpoghiston], from 2001. He had been fined for his religious activity and had his home raided and Christian books confiscated.

He fled in August 2007 after anti-terrorism police raided his home, claiming he was holding an "illegal" religious meeting. Police detained him, but did not prevent him leaving the police station several hours later to attend to his distressed wife Aigul, who was seven months pregnant.

Soon afterwards, Djabbarbergenov left Nukus for the Uzbek capital Tashkent. On 20 August 2007, Nukus police issued a wanted poster (seen by Forum 18) stating that he was a follower of Isa Masih (Jesus Christ) and was being sought to face charges under Criminal Code Article 229-2. Police confirmed to Forum 18 from Nukus in October 2007 that they were still hunting for Djabbarbergenov (see F18News 12 October 2007 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1034).

To evade arrest, Djabbarbergenov crossed into Kazakhstan on 11 September 2007, where he sought refugee status with the UNHCR. His wife and children joined him in 2008. The UNHCR's office in Almaty acknowledged in writing his and his family's status as refugees in a 26 February 2008 certificate, seen by Forum 18. "As a refugee," it notes, "he is a person of concern to the UNHCR, and should, in particular, be protected from forcible return to a country, where he would face threats to his life or freedom."

Refugee Law

Kazakhstan acceded to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention in January 1999. Article 33, Part 1 of the Convention declares: "No Contracting State shall expel or return ("refouler") a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion."

Kazakhstan adopted its Refugee Law in December 2009 (it came into force on 1 January 2010). It defined in Article 1, Part 1 as: "a foreigner who because of well-grounded fears what an individual could become a victim of persecution on the basis of race, ethnicity, religious faith, citizenship, membership of a certain social group or for political convictions finds themselves outside the country of their citizenship and cannot avail themselves of their country's protection or does not wish to avail themselves of such protection as a result of such fears, or is a person without citizenship finding themselves outside the country of their permanent residence or citizenship who cannot or do not wish to return as a result of these fears".

Just before the adoption of the Refugee Law, the procedure for recognising refugees and asylum seekers was transferred from the UNHCR to the Kazakh government's Migration Committee, part of the Labour and Social Protection Ministry.

The Kazakh government refused to recognise decisions taken by the UNHCR and began a review of all cases. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) notes, in a 3 September 2012 report on the impact on human rights of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO), that of 120 UNHCR-recognised refugees whose cases were re-examined between June and October 2010, all but five were rejected.

"In examining cases with a particular connection to religious or political activity," FIDH noted, "members of Kazakhstan's government commission stated that the Kazakh authorities had no right to comment on the situation within Uzbekistan and China, which constituted part of the internal affairs of those states. Their position was that if Kazakhstan granted refugee status to Uzbeks or Chinese Uyghurs, its relationship with its SCO neighbours would suffer."

Rejection

On 3 March 2011, in a document signed by its deputy chief Lt-Col. Askhat Butunchinov and seen by Forum 18, Almaty City Migration Police rejected the appeal for refugee status from Djabbarbergenov, his wife and four children. It claimed that he did not meet the eligibility criteria for refugee status under Kazakhstan's Refugee Law. "According to Article 12, Part 1 of Kazakhstan's Refugee Law there is no ground for granting refugee status," the rejection letter claims. The letter noted that they were entitled to challenge the rejection in court.

Article 12, Part 1 of the Refugee Law gives as a reason for refusing refugee status: "the absence of well-grounded fears what an individual could become a victim of persecution on the basis of race, ethnicity, religious faith, citizenship, membership of a certain social group or for political convictions".

Successive court decisions – seen by Forum 18 – rejected Djabbarbergenov's appeal against the Migration Police's decision. The first came in a 17 October 2011 decision by Court No. 2 of Almaty's Almaly District. This was upheld by the appeals division of Almaty City Court on 6 December 2011. A panel of three judges at the cassation division of the same court rejected his further appeal on 2 February 2012.

The court decisions agreed with the Migration Police's claim that Djabbarbergenov did not meet the eligibility criteria for refugee status. They claimed he had not presented sufficient evidence of his claims that he would be persecuted for his faith were he to be returned to Uzbekistan.

Djabbarbergenov then lodged an appeal to Kazakhstan's Supreme Court. However, as of 10 September the Supreme Court had given no date for any hearing. Telephones at the Supreme Court's relevant departments went unanswered each time Forum 18 called that day to find out when the case will be heard.

Previous expulsion attempt

On 29 May 2008, the KNB seized Djabbarbergenov on the street near his Almaty home in an attempt to expel him back to Uzbekistan. The Uzbek authorities had claimed to the Kazakh authorities that he is an Islamic fundamentalist and terrorist.

The Almaty office of the UNHCR confirmed to Forum 18 on 3 June 2008 that Djabbarbergenov had been detained by the Kazakh KNB as a result of an inquiry from Uzbekistan and was released on UNHCR's request (see F18News 4 June 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1139).

Commitments violated

Kazakhstan has earlier sent back refugees to Uzbekistan. On 9 June 2011, it sent back 28 men wanted by the Uzbek authorities on anti-state and religion-related charges, despite protests by human rights defenders. Relatives of the men say they were peaceful Muslims the authorities were seeking to punish for their religious activity.

Representatives of the men complained to the UN Committee Against Torture, arguing that they were at risk of torture if they were returned to Uzbekistan. On 1 June 2012, the Committee ruled that Kazakhstan had violated its commitments under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (document reference CAT/C/48/D/444/2010).

The Committee found that "the pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights and the significant risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in Uzbekistan, in particular for individuals practising their faith outside of the official framework, has been sufficiently established". It pointed out that at least some of the complainants had already been subjected to "detention and torture" before they fled to Kazakhstan.

The Committee noted that the men were detained as soon as they arrived back in Uzbekistan and that some at least had received prison terms of more than ten years.

Kazakhstan had told the Committee that it had received "written guarantees from the General Prosecutor's Office of Uzbekistan that the complainants' rights and freedoms would be respected after the extradition and that they would not be subjected to torture or ill-treatment". However, the Committee noted that Kazakhstan's accepting such assurances without close monitoring of conditions in Uzbek detention was not enough.

The Committee Against Torture said the men should be brought back to Kazakhstan and given compensation. It asked the Kazakh authorities to respond to the findings "within 90 days".

While Primbetov of the General Prosecutor's Office insisted to Forum 18 his government will respond, the UN Committee Against Torture and Kazakhstan's Mission to the United Nations organisations in Geneva did not respond immediately to Forum 18's enquiries.

Please pray for the pastor and his family to be safe and for the Kazakhstan authority that Lord would soften their hearts and let them allow pastor to stay safely in Kazakhstan.
You may also contact the Embassy of Kazakhstan and in a polite manner, ask them for help in this situation.

Embassy Contact Info
1401 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 232-5488
washington@mfa.kz or
washington@kazakhembus.com

Pastor with wife and children