ASTANA. KAZINFORM – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree to appoint Marat Sultangaziyev as akim (governor) of Almaty region, Kazinform has learned from the Akorda press service.
Kazakhstan maintains public lists of individuals and organisations allegedly connected to "terrorism or extremism" list, and secret "high-risk" or "suspicious" organisation lists circulated to banks. Both lists lead to blocking and denial of bank accounts and numerous other problems. "We ve written more than 10 letters to various state agencies," Protestant Pastor Pyotr Shelepanov of New Life Church in Talgar told Forum 18. "But we ve had no real answer." His Church describes the denial of a bank account as "incomprehensible".