CIS (ex-USSR)

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ASTANA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A court in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan has begun hearing the case against a Kazakh Christian convert who could face a long prison term on charges of "inciting religious hatred". Yqylas Qabduaqasov, 54, an active member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, was brought to the courtroom in the capital Astana Friday, October 9, in handcuffs, reporters said.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News Report via Vatican Radio:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered new security measures across Russia following two suicide attacks killed dozens of people within two days in the southern city of Volgograd.

By BosNewsLife Americas Service HAVANA, CUBA (BosNewsLife)-- As the countdown began Thursday, March 1, for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba this month, there were reports that authorities have barred several known dissidents and their family members from attending church services, while several pastors were mistreated.

By BosNewsLife News Center TASHKENT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Two Christian families in Uzbekistan faced uncertain future Wednesday, May 14, after receiving massive fines for meeting in a private home to read the Bible and pray together, church members and rights investigators said. Alisher Abdullayev and Veniamin Nemirov were fined along with another member of their home church in October 2012 for unregistered religious activity and teaching religion "illegally".

Listen to this BosNewsLife News Report via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Russian President Vladimir Putin has eased restrictions on protests in and around the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will be held next month, but concerns remain whether local residents complaining about construction can hold rallies.

By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos KIEV/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A Ukrainian court has reportedly sentenced an elderly human rights activist, known for her fight against corruption and police abuse, to a psychological hospital resembling the Soviet-era, amid a wider crackdown on political opponents.

MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on churchgoers in Russia's predominantly Muslim Dagestan region that killed at least five people and injured five more. Video footage showed people panicking as gunfire reverberated around a Russian Orthodox church in the Dagestan city of Kizlyar.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest ASTANA/BAKU/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Kazakhstan's Supreme Court has acquitted an evangelical pastor on charges of "severe damage to health due to negligence” after praying for an ill man, but devoted Christians in another former Soviet republic, Azerbaijan, were awaiting whether a high court would ban their church, BosNewsLife learned Saturday, June 30

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ASHGABAT/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A Pentecostal pastor remained in police custody Tuesday, August 31, in Turkmenistan where he faces five years imprisonment and confiscation of properties for "large-scale swindling", charges his wife and church members strongly deny, rights activists said.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest BUDAPEST/MOSCOW (BosNewsLife)-- Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliev was to receive for signing the final version of controversial legislation "limiting freedom of religion" while Christians elsewhere in Central Asia faced similar restrictions Saturday, May 16, rights investigators and local believers said.