More Kyrgyz control over religion
Updated on 13 January 2009
Kyrgyzstan has shrugged off US concerns and adopted an amended a law that will strengthen state control over religious groups, government media reported.
The revised legislation will strongly curtail missionary activity in the impoverished, mostly Muslim Central Asian nation. It prohibits the dissemination of religious literature in public places and requires religious communities to register more than 200 adult members before they can operate legally.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed the legislation on Monday, state newspaper Slovo Kyrgyzstana said, and it took effect immediately. His approval came days after several prominent US lawmakers said the legislation would "severely restrict freedom of religion" and urged a veto.
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