In Kazakhstan, the state continues to penalize congregations that do not want to register. One church member, Pavel Leonov, was fined 100 times a minimum monthly salary for not registering. Leonov appealed the fine but was denied.
In Pavlodar region, Pastor Oleg Voropaev was fined 10 months minimum salary for leading his Baptist congregation. The state registration requirements violate the right to freedom of belief guaranteed by the Constitution," Voropaev said in court.
Both Leonov and Voropaev have been fined in previous years. Baptists call state intervention against them "economic warfare."
An official from the Internal Affairs Department maintained that the Baptists were breaking the law.
