On Saturday 26 February Associated Press reported that a Kyrgyz court has banned the Chinese spiritual group Falun Gong under pressure from neighboring China. This is the first country outside of Mainland to ban the group, which is alleged to be a target of violent persecution under Beijing’s directive.

A district court revoked Falun Gong’s registration after the Chinese Embassy asked Kyrgyztan’s Justice Department to seek the ban, said lawyer Ivan Shkodyuk, who represented the group in court.

Falun Gong was registered as an organization in Kyrgyzstan last July and has about a dozen active members. But Shkodyuk said the Justice Department cited an agreement between Kyrgyzstan and China on co-operating in fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism. The department’s filing stated that the group posed a threat to the country’s security, he said.

Shkodyuk said the trial lasted about 40 minutes and the court refused to consider the group’s explanations. “This is a result of China’s pressure on Kyrgyzstan and is a violation of human rights,” Shkodyuk said. According to internal sources, Falun Gong engages in meditation activities and peaceful events to raise awareness of the persecution of its members in China.

Kyrgyzstan is one of the founding members of the “Shanghai Five”- the coalition of four former Soviet states and China. The group was formed in 1996 and consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and has developed into a comprehensive economic and security alliance to fight against Islamic extremism. Kyrgyzstan has benefited from the treaty, citing huge economic returns.