Kazakh jailed for membership in banned Islamic group
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 30 September 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kazakh jailed for membership in banned Islamic group, 30 September 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/561d04e32b.html [accessed 28 May 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. |
September 30, 2015
By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
TEMIRTAU, Kazakhstan – A court in Kazakhstan's central city of Temirtau has sentenced a local resident to three years in jail for being a member of a banned Islamic group.
The Qaraghandy regional court's press service says Orazbek Apakashev, 30, was found guilty on September 30 of being a member of the Tablighi Jamaat group and sentenced on the same day.
According to the court, Apakashev actively participated in the banned group's activities in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Karachi.
The Tablighi Jamaat is a religious movement founded in India in 1926 that positions itself as a pacifist organization and not involved in politics.
In recent years, it has been banned in Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Islamic groups have been under increased scrutiny from the Kazakh authorities since a suspected Islamist militant carried out the country's first-ever suicide bombing in the northwestern city of Aqtobe in 2011.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
