Kazakhstan to toughen punishment for setting up prohibited religious and community groups

Astana. June 3. Silkroadnews – Kazakhstan is to toughen its punishment for setting up religious and community groups that were prohibited by court. The committee of the senate on constitutional legislation distributed documents containing subsequent information.
According to the new stipulation of the Criminal Code, crime of that sort is punishable by fine of up to USD 60 000 or by up to 6 years in prison. Foreign nationals or individuals without citizenship are to be banned from the country for 5 years.
Membership in a religious or community organisation group that was prohibited by the court order due to its relation to extremism or terrorism is punishable by up to 2 years in prison or fined by USD 20 000. Foreign nationals or individuals without citizenship are to be banned from the country for 5 years.
As reported earlier, some of the human rights activists are concerned that the new Criminal Code along with the new Administrative Code are to prevent community groups from functioning.