Kyrgyzstan - January 2025

President Sadyr Japarov signed the law “On Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations” on 21 January, which rights advocates and religious leaders say exerts too much control over religious affairs and encroaches on individual civil liberties. The law bans the bearing of religious face coverings, such as the Islamic niqab, in public places, ‘coercive’ attempts at religious conversions, and religious ceremonies in nursing homes and correctional institutions. The use of religious words or terms in the names of legal entities is also banned. Private religious lessons outside of approved institutions are prohibited and pursuing religious studies abroad is only possible with explicit government approval. Religious teachers will also be licensed and their activities strictly curtailed. The law is expected to infringe on the rights of minority religions that have frequently struggled with state pressure, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as Muslims who do not conform to the state definition of Islamic orthodoxy.

Sources: Havli, Office of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Times of Central Asia