Jailed Uzbek Pastor Faces Extradition From Kazakhstan
By BosNewsLife News Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos
ASTANA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Kazakhstan has detained an Uzbek house church pastor who is wanted in his home country for "illegal" religious teaching and Christian literature distribution, according to local Christians and rights activists.

Kazakhstan Constitutional Council Objects “Restrictive” Religious Law
Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, BosNewsLife
BUDAPEST/ASTANA (BosNewsLife)-- A global Christian rights group welcomed a "landmark decision" by Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council to reject as “unconstitutional” a draft law which would “further restrict freedom of religion and belief in the country," BosNewsLife learned Saturday, February 14.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan Crackdown On Evangelical Churches
By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest
BAKU/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Authorities in Azerbaijan continued preparations Tuesday, March 13, to close down an evangelical church in the first such reported incident since the former Soviet republic introduced harsh religious legislation in 2009, rights activists said.

Detained Baptist Pastors Face Uncertainty In Kazakhstan And Azerbaijan (UPDATE)
(ADDS LATEST DETAILS ON EXPECTED HEARING OF BAPTIST PASTOR)BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Two Baptist pastors in two former Soviet republics faced legal challenges Monday, November 3, because they continued worship services despite opposition from local authorities, Christians and rights watchers said.
Baptist Congregation Appeals Against Closure
By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest
DUSHANBE/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Members of a Baptist congregation in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe have appealed to the City Court against a ban on their activity, which was apparently imposed because they meet in a private home without state registration, BosNewsLife learned Wednesday, December 2.

Christians Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Facing Crackdown
By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest
BUDAPEST/ASTANA/BISHKEK (BosNewsLife)-- Devoted Christians in autocratically ruled Kazakhstan and neighboring Kyrgyzstan face church closures and state control over Christian materials amid a fresh crackdown by authorities on faith groups in the region, BosNewsLife learned Friday, December 14.

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan Sentences Pastors For Evangelism, Literature Distribution
By BosNewsLife News Center
ASTANA/TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Evangelical Christians in Central Asia remained concerned Tuesday, June 4, about the plight of Pastor Sharofat Allamova who was sentenced to 1.5 years "corrective labor" in Uzbekistan for distributing Christian literature while in neighboring Kazakhstan a pastor was detained after distributing red tea during communion, activists and missionaries said.

Kazakhstan Court Rules Against Destruction Bibles; Christians Fined
By BosNewsLife News Center
ASTANA/BUDAPEST (BosNewslife)-- An appeals court in autocratically-ruled Kazakhstan has overturned a ruling that 121 pieces of Christian literature, including Bibles, that were seized from a street evangelist be destroyed.

Religious Freedom Tightening in Former Soviet Republics (COLUMN)
By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union sparked hopes among Christians for a new era of religious freedom. Sadly, these dreams have been only partially realized. This has been confirmed in the 2016 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christians are most severely persecuted for their faith.
