Kazakhstan City
Kazakhstan
COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Kazakhstan is a constitutional republic with a strong presidency and a market economy. In 2000, the Government of Kazakhstan completed its move to the new capital, Astana. For the time being, the U.S. Embassy remains in Almaty, the country's largest city, business center, and transportation hub. Kazakhstan's tourist facilities are not highly developed; the availability of goods and services is better than in most neighboring countries, but not up to the standards found in North America and Western Europe. Internal travel and travel to neighboring countries, both by air and land, can be subject to delays due to infrastructure shortcomings and winter weather. Read the Department of State Background Notes on Kazakhstan for additional information. ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
In May the city court in Taraz rejected an appeal by the city prosecutor to revoke the registration and suspend the activities of one of the Taraz Jehovah's Witnesses congregations. The prosecutor's appeal, aimed at only one of the seven area congregations, alleged that Jehovah's Witnesses had violated the constitution by such actions as calling on members to refuse to perform military service or honor national symbols. ... The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, although government officials generally maintained that prosecutors effectively could charge traffickers under the existing Criminal Code; trafficking in women and girls was a problem. There is no evidence of a pattern of official complicity with trafficking, although corruption of law enforcement officials is widespread (see Section 1.c.). In June 2000, the official press reported that customs and border officials were under investigation for possible complicity with a trafficking ring in the southern part of the country; however, no charges had been brought against any officials by year's end. ... [Read More]
International Adoption Kazakhstan
FOR IR4 CASES ONLY (i.e. if one of the parents did not see the child in person prior to the completion of the Kazakhstani adoption): I-864 - Affidavit of Support, photocopies of last 3 year''s tax returns and proof of current employment. The tax returns do not have to be notarized, but you have to provide complete sets. If you are adopting more than one child and one parent did not see the child in person prior to adoption, you must submit a separate I-864 and set of financial documents for each child. IF ONLY ONE MARRIED ADOPTIVE PARENT will attend the immigrant visa interview, that parent should present photographs of the other parent with the child in order to establish that the other parent personally saw the child prior to completion of the ... [Read More]
2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Kazakhstan
In September, DCK received a permit to hold another rally, co-sponsored by the Communist Party, as part of series of national rallies leading up to the September 19 parliamentary elections. However, the permit specified that the rally could take place only at a site on the outskirts of Almaty; DCK and the Communist Party instead staged the rally in the center of the city. Several DCK activists were taken to court, though no fines or penalties were levied. There was a separate report of the detention of an activist in Aktau city, who was fined and released after taking part in a concurrent, but unsanctioned, DCK/Communist rally in Aktau. ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
There was no evidence of a pattern of official complicity with trafficking, although corruption of law enforcement officials was widespread. ... On November 17, an Almaty district court convicted Yermurat Bapi, editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper SolDat and a member of the executive committee of the RNPK, of tax evasion and barred him from practicing journalism for 5 years. The Almaty Financial Police and Tax Committee filed the charges against the newspaper in April, announcing that it had failed to pay approximately $480,000 (67.5 million Tenge) in taxes, although the assessment was lowered when the case came to trial. On April 28, an Almaty district court ruled against the newspaper in a libel lawsuit filed by an M.P. and awarded the M.P. $10,700 (1.5 million Tenge). On May 22, the Almaty City Court increased the amount of that judgment to $28,500 (4 million Tenge), forcing the newspaper to close. In May 2002, the Almaty offices of the newspaper were attacked, resulting in the theft of equipment and the hospitalization of one of SolDat's employees. In 2001, an Almaty district court convicted Bapi of insu ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
The city of Astana was originally founded by Cossack troops of the Imperial Russian Army as a fortress in 1824 and named Akmolinsk. By the middle of the 19th century, it had become a regional administrative center, and in the 20th century an important rail junction for goods moving north and south. By World War I, the city's population had grown to 20,000 inhabitants. Located in the center of the area chosen by the Soviet Union for its Virgin Lands program, in 1961 the city was renamed Tselinograd ("Virgin City" in Russian). The city's name was changed again after Kazakhstani independence in 1991 to Akmola, Kazakh for "White Tomb." ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
There were at least two instances when the Government denied permits for political rallies. On January 12, DVK leader Galymzhan Zhakiyanov was denied permission to hold a protest rally in Pavlodar. On April 21, pensioners in the northern city of Petropavlovsk were also denied permission to protest; in that instance the mayor of the city claimed that such a rally would threaten the inviolability of the president's honor and dignity. DVK, the United Democratic Parties (UDP), and the Ak Zhol political party received permits to hold rallies in Almaty and other cities during the year. ... [Read More]
U.S. Department of State Websites of U.S. Embassies and Consulates
• Panama: Panama City ... • Belize: Belize City ... • Jordan: Amman• Kuwait: Kuwait City ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the various religious communities worship largely without government interference. Although local officials attempt on occasion to limit the practice of religion by some nontraditional groups, such attempts are usually corrected upon the intervention of higher-level officials or courts. The overall status of religious freedom improved during the period covered by this report. President Nursultan Nazarbayev continued an initiative to promote dialogue among religions; a second international conference drawing regional dignitaries and religious figures was held in September 2003. However, the President and other senior officials also spoke out on the need to contain religious extremism, and officials at all levels continued to regard religious extremism with concern. Instances of harassment of religious organizations by local officialsdecrease ... [Read More]
Kazakhstan
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the various religious communities worship largely without government interference; however, local officials attempt on occasion to limit the practice of religion by some nontraditional groups. Such attempts are often corrected upon the intervention of higher-level officials or courts.The overall status of religious freedom improved during the period covered by this report. President Nursultan Nazarbayev began an initiative to promote dialog among religions; an international conference drawing regional dignitaries and religious figures was held in February. However, the President and other senior officials also spoke out on the need to contain religious extremism, and officials at all levels continued to regard religious extremism with concern. Followi ... [Read More]
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