Kazakh woman on trial for downloading Bible is acquitted
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 14 March 2018 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kazakh woman on trial for downloading Bible is acquitted, 14 March 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b20dd46a.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
March 14, 2018 13:04 GMT
By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan – A court in Kazakhstan has acquitted a woman who was charged with illegal missionary activity after she showed another person how to download the Bible on a smartphone.
The South Kazakhstan Regional Court, in the city of Shymkent, found Dilobarkhon Sultanova not guilty on March 13.
Sultanova was charged in January after she showed a woman she met at the New Life protestant church in December how to download the Bible on her smartphone. The woman later filed a complaint against Sultanova with local police, accusing her of illegally propagating Christianity.
Kazakhstan is a multiethnic country of almost 18 million people with a Muslim majority and a large Russian Orthodox minority.
Although freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution, there have been several cases where followers of religions considered "nontraditional" have been sentenced to prison terms on charges of inciting discord or conducting illegal missionary activities.
