A group of Christians who have refused to pay fines for exercising their right to religious freedom have now been banned from leaving the country until the fines are paid. Yevgeni Zhovtis of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law calls this a "double punishment". But a Ministry of Justice official told Forum 18 News Service that this is not the case: "It's not a double punishment, it's a restriction of their actions until they have paid their fines".
More and more people from different denominations are being fined for meeting for worship without state permission or for sharing their faith with others. Baptists from the Council of Churches, Jehovah's Witnesses and members of the Muslim missionary movement Tabligh Jamaat are particularly under pressure. Zhovtis is also concerned that the exit ban "is not regulated by law. The officials have simply made a decision about it and the individuals concerned have no proper opportunity to challenge it in court," says Zhovtis. Several Baptists who have been banned from leaving the country told Forum 18 that they had not been notified of the hearings where the travel ban was issued.
Source: Forum 18 News Service, which the Danish European Mission is co-founder and involved in the management of.
