Click the above link to view it, or read an excerpt below:

Prof. Dr. Heiner Bielefeldt
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Dear Mr. Rapporteur,
We write as an informal group of organizations and individuals who are scholars, religious leaders, human rights advocates and practitioners to express our deep concern about rising restrictions on religion in the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the 2012 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, “Conditions for religious freedom declined sharply in Kazakhstan during the reporting period.”

We urge you to visit Kazakhstan at the earliest possible opportunity, perform a review of the situation, identify existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and present recommendations on ways and means to overcome these obstacles.

Your visit would be consistent with recommendations that were made to Kazakhstan in 2010 as part of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). In fact, Kazakhstan accepted the recommendation “To reach out to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief to arrange a visit at the earliest possible opportunity (United States of America).”

At the same time, Kazakhstan rejected the recommendation “To abolish requirements for the registration of religious groups from the existing Administrative Code, in accordance with the laws adopted in 2005 on the elimination of extremism and the strengthening national security, and to review the provisions of the Law on Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations in order to effectively guarantee freedom of belief and a non-discriminatory legal system for the registration of religious entities (Mexico).”

Further, Kazakhstan rejected the recommendation “To consider the rules for the registration of religious groups, and to take steps to promote interfaith harmony, including with regard to those faiths considered to be non-traditional in the country, in order to adhere to the Constitution and to international norms (Norway).”

Finally, the subsequent rising restrictions on religion are the result of two new laws that were enacted without debate and signed by President Nazarbaev in October 2011 – a new Religion Law and an Administrative Code Law that amends nine other laws and legal provisions related to religious activity and religious associations.

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Moscow–

The criminal case against Sergey Udaltsov and other “heroes” of NTV propagandistic films shows that the current regime in Russia has crossed the red line from being a simply repressive violator of democratic principles to a totalitarian one. The absurdity of accusations, reminiscent of Stalin-era actions, demonstrates the Russian authorities’ serious intention to bring down all of its force on the peaceful opposition.

We state, understanding the responsibility, that even if all the words said by the participants of the meeting shown in the film “Anatomy of the Protest-2” are true, there is absolutely no legal grounds for the prosecution of the accused people.

We believe that those who join campaigns to slander the opposition, and who willingly help authorities persecute innocent people, are shameful.

Despite the fact that it is the high authorities’ decision to legally persecute the opposition, we declare that it is Investigation Committee’s leaders, headed by Alexander Ivanovich Bystrikin, who carry full personal responsibility for the fabrication of criminal cases.

Unfortunately, today, A.I. Bystrikin has begun to play the same role in domestic justice as the horribly remembered Andrey Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky (General Prosecutor during Stalin’s Moscow Trials of 1936- 1938 and later involved in Stalin’s political trials).

The fabrication of cases against the opposition is creating an irreversible situation that is dangerously raising the degree of confrontation in Russian society.

We demand:

- immediate release of all political prisoners,

- cessation of the persecution of the opposition under fabricated accusations and

- dismissal of A.I. Bystrikin from his position

We call on parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition, as well as all civil society, to come forward against the persecution of the protest movement activists.

Lev Ponomarev, Executive Director of All Russian Movement “For Human Rights”

Igor Bakirov, coordinator of the Movement “White Ribbon”

Ludmilla Alekseeva, Chair of Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG)

Sergey Kovalev, Chair of Museum Council and Andrey Sakharov Public Center

This information is provided by the organization “For Human Rights”

Tell: 602-22-24; 691-6233

E-mail: news@zaprava.ru; zpch@mail.ru

Dear Member of Congress,

We are religious and human rights organizations which work together on issues of international importance and today we are writing you to support the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act” currently before both houses of Congress.

Issues of human rights and religious freedom are inseparable. As representatives of a wide number of religions and faiths across the United States, we do everything possible to make sure that all people can practice their faith around the world without restriction or interference. For this reason, we strongly support the passage of the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act” (H.R 4405 / S.1039). This Act was named after Sergei Magnitsky, a young lawyer in Russia who bravely stood up to corruption, and ultimately paid the highest possible price by losing his life at the hands of the official of the Russian state involved in the corruption he uncovered. The details of his story are extremely sad, but his sacrifice will hopefully lead to an important and new method for fighting human rights abuses which could have a dramatic effect everywhere.

Among other things, we support this legislation because it specifically targets officials who abuse human rights with effective travel and financial sanctions. America’s rule of law, property rights and entrenched freedoms make our country a magnet for millions of people all over the world. They visit our great nation to enjoy our stability, use our banking system and feel safe. We support sharing our way of life with people from all over the world who want to visit our country. At the same time, coming to America is a privilege and not a right, and when foreign officials are involved in torture, murder, restrictions of religious freedom or other human rights abuses, they should have that privilege taken away. We believe that this law would not only create an effective punishment for people who have violated human rights, but also a powerful deterrent for people not to do these things in the future.

It is one thing to talk about human rights and religious freedoms and quite another to actually do something about it. Because of the well thought out terms of this legislation, we believe that this bill will become an effective lever that the United States will have in dealing with this pernicious and growing problem of human rights abuses around the world. We strongly urge you to co-sponsor this bill in the short term and vote for its passage into law.

Sincerely Yours,

ORGANIZATIONS

ACTION FOR POST-SOVIET JEWRY

AMERICAN ISLAMIC CONGRESS

CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

HINDU AMERICAN FOUNDATION

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW FOUNDATION

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

PARTNERS FOR A PROGRESSIVE ISRAEL

UNITED MACEDONIAM DIASPORA

UNION OF COUNCILS FOR JEWS IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION (UCSJ)

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C. Naseer Ahmad

President

AZI Consulting Inc.

Professor Jerome A. Chanes

New York, NY

 
Rabbi Israel S. Dresner,

Temple Beth Tikvah

Wayne, NJ
 

Mark Gold,

Former President Americans for a Progressive Israel

Teaneck, NJ

Professor Leonard Grob

Professor Emeritus, Fairleigh-Dickinson University

Rutherford, NJ

Rabbi Roger Lerner,

Temple B’nai Brith,

Kingston, PA

Greg Mitchell

President

The Mitchell Firm

Senge Hasnan Sering

President

Institute for Gilgit Baltistan Studies

Michael Stoddard Ph.D.

Lecturer, San Diego State University