ASTANA, Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan's Constitutional Council announced on 11 February that the restrictive new law on religious freedom is unconstitutional. President Nursultan Nazarbaiev has a month to decide whether to support the new law.

Igor Rogov, president of the Council, explains that the new law violates the Constitution, which stipulates that the rights and freedoms recognized by the Constitution 'shall not be restricted in any way.' It also excludes discrimination for reasons that include religion. The Constitution says that everyone has 'the right to determine and indicate or not to indicate his national, party and religious affiliation.'

The new law has been harshly criticized by religious groups and by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which had asked Nazarbiev not to ratify it. The president then handed the matter over to the Constitutional Council.