The Kazakh government's own Human Rights office is protesting this travesty of justice. (Please make allowances for a sometimes awkward English translation.)
American Thinker ran a short article of mine in their 1/24/09 issue. (They're usually ferocious partisans, but this is an issue for liberals and conservatives and libertarians alike.)
(A big thanks to UPI for publishing a reprint of my article on their web site. Account registration is needed to view that site, which is intended for budding journalists.)
Here is a chilling overview, in the form of a YouTube video with footage from Kazakhstan's television news. (You can see the local woman who is her religious director, as well as a moderate Kazakh Muslim leader speaking in her support.)
Click to download Elizaveta's letters written from prison. They are formatted as one-page MSWord Doc files. (Please understand that her primary language is Russian, and the translation is spotty.)
Seems that even the prison guards are surprised at the supposed "crime" for which she has now become their ward. Also, the prison facility supplies almost nothing--even cups must be supplied from outside.
"HDH" stands for Hoon Dok Hae, a Korean phrase which refers to traditional Unificationist morning study devotionals.
(It is followed by a separate report by Peter Zoehrer of Austria, which is also available for download as a 2-page MSWord Doc here.)
Here is a review of, with quotations from, the relevant Kazakh law (now repealed!), as posted by Forum 18, a Norwegian human rights organization.
(The link is to a PDF file.)
A Unificationist in Europe has created a web domain, with sections in Russian and English, to draw interest to the case. This site has all of her letters posted. (It also accepts posts from concerned individuals.)
Here is a less formal discussion forum post by a Unificationist sports fan, made as a public appeal. (That forum accepts comments from its members, and though usually about sports, this developed into a vigorous argument.)
Several Unificationists are raising funds to help, including specific plans to gain more publicity. (Enough money has been raised to send a well-known journalist to cover Lisa's next legal hearing on March 10th, 2009.)
The OSCE has pledged to uphold, and appears to be working toward, religious freedom. (Kazakhstan is slated to chair that prestigious international organization in 2010.)
Also, you can send a letter to Elizaveta, via Peter Zoehrer. The email address is, webmaster /at/ religiousfreedom \dot\ info. He will pass it along, with a printed translation if necessary.
By the way, Unificationists aren't the only victims of this wave of repression. A couple of years ago, the Kazakh government cracked down on the Hare Krishna movement in that country. Perhaps they assumed that such a relatively small, and often controversial, movement would make an easy target. I hate to say this, but they may have picked well -- the Krishnas got crushed, and with hardly a peep from the international community.
Whatever your opinion of that movement, Rev. Niemoller's timeless warning holds true!
