Adventist Jailed for Sharing His Faith in Kazakhstan
From Forum 18 New Service, August 23, 2015: Kazakhstan police arrested Yklas Kabduakasov, an Adventist church member, on the evening of Friday, August 14, after searching his home in the capital Astana and confiscating religious books. The local church where he is a member was also searched the same day. On Sabbath, August 15, an Astana court ordered that he be held in pre-trial detention for up to two months at the police Investigation Prison, the court chancellery told Forum 18 News Service. Forum 18 is a human rights organization based in Oslo, Norway.
Kabduakasov challenged this detention at a hearing yesterday morning (August 21), his lawyer, Gulmira Shaldykova, told Forum 18. The secret police claim he was spreading “religious discord” by discussing his faith with and offering Christian books to individuals in the community. If convicted, the Adventist church member could face a prison sentence of five to ten years.
Kabduakasov’s arrest was mentioned at the weekly service of his Adventist congregation in Astana on Sabbath, August 15, a member told Forum 18. Members also prayed for him yesterday.
Kabduakasov, who works for an Astana-based building company Stroiinvest, was stopped by the traffic police in Astana on August 14 and taken back to his home in the city, those close to him told Forum 18. Once there, police officers searched his home and confiscated several Christian books. At about 6 pm, at the end of the search, the officers arrested him. The church in Astana where Kabduakasov attends was also searched on August 14.
Kazakhstan’s tight restrictions on exercising the right to freedom of belief include a ban on anyone apart from individuals appointed specifically by registered religious communities and who have personal registration with the state as “missionaries” (whether local citizens or foreigners) from conducting “missionary” activity. Any religious literature such state-approved “missionaries” use also requires specific state approval. Anyone else who talks to another person about their faith or gives them a book on a religious topic risks punishment.
The police are believed to have been keeping Kabduakasov under surveillance in recent months, including through the use of video surveillance, because he made it a practice to discussing his faith with others. In May the police apparently gave him a written warning about his “missionary activity” which they insisted was “illegal,” sources close to him told Forum 18.
The police were investigating Kabduakasov for “incitement of social, national, clan, racial, or religious discord” under the nation’s Criminal Code Article 174, Part 2, the court chancellery and Kabduakasov’s lawyer separately confirmed to Forum 18. This law prescribes punishment for repeat “offenders,” with prison terms of between five and ten years.
On July 2 a court in Kazakhstan’s commercial capital, Almaty, sentenced a Sunni Muslim prisoner, Saken Tulbayev, to four years and eight months in a labor camp under Criminal Code Article 174, Part 1. The court also found him guilty under Criminal Code Article 405, Part 2 for participation in a banned religious movement and punished him with one year (to run concurrently) and a ban on “activity directed at meeting the religious needs of believers” for two additional years. His family insists that the publications used to prosecute him had been planted by police in the family apartment.
The police detective leading the case against Kabduakasov has the first name Nurlan, his colleague Investigator Diyar Idrishov told Forum 18 from Astana on August 19. The man who answered the phone at Nurlan’s phone at the Astana police office on Friday (August 20) did not give his name and repeatedly put the phone down as soon as Forum 18 asked about Kabduakasov’s case. This “Nurlan” is believed to be the officer in Astana with responsibility for keeping the city’s Christian congregations under surveillance, those familiar with his activity told Forum 18.
Reached on the evening of August 19, the duty officer at the police Investigation Prison would not give his name and repeatedly refused to give Forum 18 any information about Kabduakasov, without giving any reason. The officer would only confirm that Kabduakasov is still alive. The duty officer on August 20 similarly refused to give any information.
For supporters who may wish to write to Kabduakasov, his prison address is: SIZO KNB g. Astana, 010003 Astana, Ul. Shyntas 2, Kazakhstan
This is quite disturbing, though the scope of this behavior by the government is not detailed or perhaps known by the reporting group or others.
According to the U.S. C.I.A book the religious makeup of the nation is Muslim 70.2%, Christian 26.2% (mainly Russian Orthodox), other 0.2%, atheist 2.8%, unspecified 0.5% (2009 est.).
That Forum 18 reports a Sunni being arrested under similar accusation suggests this may not an Islam v Christian conflict.
A question for AToday contributors is whether Christians have an obligation to preach where they are not welcomed?
A parallel question that comes to mind is whether the second coming of Jesus is enabled by the whole then present human population having been evangelized by Christians?
Neither of these questions, of course, addresses the psychological stress of having embraced faith that cannot be spoken of.
We can thank God for the freedom we have to worship and pass out tracks.
The Christians over there need our prayers.
I am torn between sympathy for the man’s plight and the view that he needlessly, and foolishly brought it upon himself.
Perhaps I spent too many previous years living under a mushroom to have seen clearly the dangers of zealous evangelism to society.
Or, perhaps the dangers are just more vividly demonstrated now with the rise of radicalism, extremism and terrorism. Whichever it is, I think Bill asks a valid question as to whether Christians have an obligation to preach when not welcomed.
I think absolutely not.
Perhaps, I would even go so far as to say they have an obligation to not do so. How else can we insist the radical desist if we do not?…
Fair is fair, and religion is a realm wherein no one person or group has any demonstrably stronger claim to being right than another, so keeping one’s faith to oneself is a great way to assist peaceful coexistence.
I know plenty of Christians who face many hardships and cling to their faith to get them through – all the while blind to the possibility it is their faith lived foolishly that has caused the very hardships! Ironic.
One is left with the question–did Jesus live His life foolishly?
And His disciples?
Chris,
Are you saying that Jesus lived His life foolishly? And His disciples as well?
Jesus said, If the village you go to refuses to hear the truth and turns you away brush the dust from your sandles, and go.
Syrian bombers attacked a Christian enclave in Aleppo, killing 29 Christians.
Suicide bombers attacked 2 Christian churches in Lahore, Pakistan, killing 21 Christians.
IS militants beheaded 20 Christians from Al-Our, Egypt.
Yazidi and non-Muslim women have been enslaved by IS and their children beheaded, crucified and buried alive.
No Christian churches or synagogues are allowed in Saudi Arabia.
A Christian shop in Kenya was fire-bombed, killing 4 Christians.
Thirteen Christians were killed when Al-Shabaab attacked Garissa University.
Thirty Ethiopian Christians were beheaded by IS in Libya.
200 Christian schoolgirls are still missing, having been abducted by Boko Haram, Nigeria.
Twelve Christians drowned when thrown overboard by Muslim refugees en route from Libya to Sicily.
A 14-year-old Christian boy was drenched in kerosene and burnt to death by Muslims in Lahore.
A Christian pastor was killed and 7 churches burnt down in Bukoba, Tanzania.
Seven Christians have been killed and five churches burned in Eastern Ukraine.
All of this in the space of a few months.
I’m not unsympathetic to the plight of the SDA jailed in Kazakstan but I think we need to keep things in perspective. The rise of Hindu, Islamic and Christian Fundamentalism presents a volatile mixture.
Whatever happened to those naughty Roman Catholics who are supposed to be chasing SDAs to their tins of baked beans in the mountain caves? O, I remember. It’s all going to happen in the future. Very…
Milton, Do you actually believe that the catholic church is NOT behind all of these factions? You need to watch the Walter Veith series entitled The Onslaught Series. Everything he is saying on those tapes is happening before our eyes! SDA’s had better wake up and understand that there are prophecies being fulfilled all around us!
So true Linda, Walter brings ONLY the facts about what’s happening with this world, He proves it by articles you can look up yourself on the net ! If people would stop and just listen to what he is saying with an open minds & pray to Jesus to not have a foggy mind what a blessing you would have by listening to Walters word . God gave us many gifted people to give us the LAST DAYS word and one of those I believe is Walter Veith.
You have got to be kidding! One cannot buy into rumors and speculations. Unless you have some material proof, you are focusing on the wrong monster at this time.
ISIS may be a distraction, but Islam is the greatest example of religion and state as one in the world today. That the RC is in cahoots with Islam is bizarre to say the least.
It is a sign of our times that right-wing fundamentalists are coming up with some of the most ridiculous conspiracies, and very sad that many Adventists are doing the same. I know for a fact that some mentally ill persons are supporting these sensational web sites and stirring up the vulnerable.
Thank you, Thank you! Is all I can say…
We are such Pig headed Adventist to think that we have the world in our hands as previous Christian lives are snuffed out by radical zealots.
May God strengthen this Hero of the Faith… May God give this man peace and lay to rest any fears he may have. May the mind of this man remain focused on Jesus Christ! May the Lord fill him with His Spirit and give him strength to endure, faithfully, until the very end.
This man must obviously love Jesus and must definitely have a real burden for souls… He is emulating Christ’s love by risking his life so that others may have an opportunity to learn, probably for the vey first time in their lives, to call upon the only name by which they, too, can receive the gift of salvation…
I am highly impressed and moved to tears with this story. This man knew the risks fully well, but he counted it all loss for the joy of bringing others to Christ! He did not lay cowardly or complacently down, but found a way, just like the Waldenses of old, to share Christ’s sacrifice with whomever was willing to listen. Christianity has survived due to the zealous attempts of a faithful few throughout history who, instead of backing down when man made laws dictated they stop sharing their faith, gathered even more courage and strength from God to go into the world to preach Christ’s gospel to everyone who would listen.
If God’s people stop preaching Christ whenever the Law of the land demands it, Christianity will go out the window and be erased from the face of the earth. That’s what Satan’s always wanted, but true believers, like this man, have made Satan’s wish…
impossible to obtain. In my book, this man belongs to a class of people “of whom this world was not worthy..” (DA). He, and many others like him, are our modern Heroes of the Faith. These people have all my love, support and prayers. If the time comes for me to ever have to make such a powerful decision, I can only pray and hope that God would lead me to stand up and do what’s right and to be faithful to the end.
The BEST argument in favor of Christianity is being a loving and loveable Christian – then people will listen to what God tells us to say to them and then they will or will not except Him. So what does it mean to be a loving and loveable Christian? To take care of their physical needs first…
My sympathy and prayers to this man who was obviously witnessing for his God. My prayers also for his family and fellow SDAS in this country.
How long will we in USA be able to enjoy religious liberty is a serious question.
Maranatha