Freedom of religion and belief and interlinked human rights are under increasing threat in Kyrgyzstan. Forum 18 s survey analysis documents: increasing "legal" restrictions on the freedom of religion and belief; Ahmadi Muslims being prevented from meeting since 2011, and refusal to allow the Falun Gong spiritual movement to exist; state attempts aiming to eventually ban all Jehovah s Witness communities; state officials and imams repeatedly stopping people peacefully burying their dead under their own rites, the most recent case being against a Protestant pastor s family.
On 2 December, a Bishkek court rejected a General Prosecutor s Office suit to ban Jehovah s Witness books and videos as "extremist", saying it had been filed under the wrong procedure. The General Prosecutor s Office official who took the case to court said it will not appeal. "The repression is postponed for now," said Syinat Sultanalieva of Human Rights Watch. The NSC secret police – which backed the ban attempt – is also pushing to have Jehovah s Witnesses banned. The General Prosecutor s Office official said he is not aware of any suit being prepared. The NSC officer investigating a 2-year-old criminal case against unspecified Jehovah s Witnesses refused to give information, citing the "secrecy of the investigation".