Kazakhstan: "Such preaching is prohibited by our law"

Within hours of arriving in the town of Uspen to visit a local Christian and set up a local congregation, police broke into the house where members of the Pavlodar Grace Church were staying, church members told Forum 18 News Service.

One visitor was questioned and a local woman the visitors had prayed with was beaten by police until she signed a statement saying she had been forced to submit to a religious ritual.

Two of the visitors face administrative trial on 31 August. Asked why the Police targeted the group, Inspector Nurserik Aytzhanov told Forum 18: "They were imposing their religion on the residents of the town by saying that 'Jesus Christ is the only God and you must believe in him'."

Asked what was wrong with sharing one's beliefs with others, he said: "Such preaching is prohibited by our law." He denied that police beat anyone. Police in Jambeyt likewise denied to Forum 18 that they beat one of ten visiting Baptists they detained.

Kazakhstan: "Such preaching is prohibited by our law"