IHF letter re Kaz

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Letter from International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF):

 

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Open letter to all OSCE delegations on the judgment against the Krishna’s

Consciousness Community in Kazakhstan

 

Vienna, 1 February 2007

 

Dear Heads of OSCE Delegations,

 

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) wishes to

inform you about the latest developments in the case against the Krishna’s

Consciousness Community in Karasai, near Almaty.

 

As you know (see also statement by the OSCE Advisory Council on Freedom of

Religion or Belief , 27 November 2006), Karasai authorities in November

demolished at least 13 houses of the Krishna’s Consciousness Community

citing unresolved property ownership rights, leaving dozens of people

homeless and offering no alternate housing to them, in violation of

international regulations.

 

In the latest development, yesterday, on 31 January 2007, a court in Karasai

ruled against the Krishna’s Consciousness Community in a process that

resembled more a farce than a fair trial: The chairman of the community had

been informed about the court session only one day in advance. He submitted

to the court a letter asking that the session be postponed in order to allow

the community to arrange an attorney to represent it, which the judge had

appeared to accept. Yet, after the community chairman had left the court,

the judge ruled against the community.

 

The troubles faced by the Krishna’s Consciousness Community date back to

2006. According to information available to the IHF, the officials’

demolition list of the community’s houses for 2006 included 47 houses, of

which at least 13 were demolished in November. Evictions, confiscations and

demolitions ? sometimes only with a few hours’ notification ? went on

throughout 2006 on the official grounds that the owners had not officially

privatized their plots of land and were unable to produce the necessary

property documentation for their homes. In fact members of the Krishna

community has repeatedly approached the local government with the aim of

regulating their ownersip, but their applications have been rejected.

 

Yet, it seems clear to the IHF that the issue at dispute has less to do with

property rights than with the right of people living in Kazakhstan to

exercise their religion freely. This has been demonstrated inter alia by

discriminatory statements by local authorities against the community,

illegal acts, and the judicial proceedings that have failed to meet

international standards for fair trials. Since the dispute started, Kazakh

authorities have been reluctant to deal with the issue in a fair and

unbiased manner.

 

Attached please find a statement by the Almaty Helsinki Committee and the

Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law on the

case.

 

We urge you to voice your serious concern about the case of the Krishna’s

Consciousness Community to the government of Kazakhstan and demand it to

ensure that freedom of religion is respected in the whole country – and to

show it in practice in the case of the Krishna’s Consciousness Community.

 

Sincerely,

(signed)

Aaron Rhodes

Executive Director

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)

 

CC: National Helsinki Committees

Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights and Rule of Law