KAZAKHSTAN: Jailings under Administrative Code continue as new Codes signed

On 8 July, Judge Aslambek Koshenov of Petropavlovsk Specialised Administrative Court imposed a five-day prison term on local Baptist Nizamov under Administrative Code Article 524. This punishes "failure to carry out court decisions" with a fine or imprisonment of between five and ten days. The 8 July verdict, seen by Forum 18, claims that imprisonment was necessary, pointing to "the influence of the appointed punishment on the correction of the offender" as well as "warning against conducting further offences, both by the offender and others".

"During the hearing, our brother explained that he had not fulfilled the earlier court decision because he doesn't consider himself guilty," local Baptists told Forum 18 on 9 July, calling the punishment "unjust".

Nizamov is a member of a Petropavl [Petropavlovsk] Baptist Council of Churches congregation in North Kazakhstan Region. These Baptists refuse on principle to register their congregations with the state, and are frequent targets of administrative punishment for continuing to meet for worship and share their faith without state permission. He was imprisoned for refusing to pay a fine of 92,600 Tenge, 50 Monthly Financial Indicators (MFIs) handed down by the same court on 13 February. This is about 3,000 Norwegian Kroner, 375 Euros, or 500 US Dollars, which is equivalent to about one month's average salary for those in work.

His "offence" was to attend a Sunday morning meeting for worship on 26 January raided by the police. The fine was imposed under Administrative Code Article 374-1, Part 2 ("Participation in the activity of an unregistered, halted, or banned religious community or social organisation") (see F18News 13 March 2014 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1937).

Appeal against fine rejected, bailiff initiates action

On 11 March, Judge Abai Ryskaliyev of North Kazakhstan Regional Court rejected Nizamov's appeal against the fine, according to the decision seen by Forum 18.

After Nizamov failed to pay the fine, court bailiff Raushan Ablayeva launched moves against him to recover the money on 14 April, according to case materials seen by Forum 18. On 18 April, she issued an order banning him from disposing of any of his property. On 2 June, she issued a "temporary ban" on Nizamov leaving Kazakhstan and ordering the case to be handed to court.

One summons by bailiff Ablayeva ordering Nizamov to present himself on 18 June was headed "APPEAR IMMEDIATELY!!!!" It warned him that he would be banned from leaving Kazakhstan and have his property seized if he failed to pay. Such exit bans are routinely imposed. As human rights defender Yevgeni Zhovtis of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law has noted, this "double punishment" is not governed by any law (see Forum 18's Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1939).

"What else should I do?"

Bailiff Ablayeva acknowledged that Nizamov had only been punished for attending a religious meeting, but insisted that it is not her role to assess the validity of court decisions. "I acted in accordance with the law," she insisted to Forum 18 on 10 July. "What else should I do?" She also defended the five-day prison term handed down. "I was there in court participating in the hearing."

Judge Koshenov's assistant refused to put Forum 18 through to him on 10 July. "We don't have the right to do so." But she defended the five-day prison term Koshenov had handed down on Nizamov. "He failed to fulfil a court order."