The Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers has banned the advertising of services by fortune-tellers, clairvoyants, and healers within the country, Fergana News reported, citing Kyrgyzstan’s news agency 24.kg.
The Cabinet approved a list of banned "magical services" that cannot be advertised, including: fortune-telling; spiritualism; clairvoyance services; sorcery; shamanism; curses and hexes; and other forms of "magical influence".
Additionally, authorities prohibited advertising for "unaccredited healing." Healers and others offering non-traditional medical services are now barred from posting advertisements online or promoting themselves in other ways.
This ban stems from amendments to the Law on Advertising, which the Kyrgyz Parliament adopted on June 12 of this year, and President Sadyr Japarov approved on June 19. The lawmakers behind the initiative explained that the law is intended to protect citizens from manipulation in the form of occult, magical, or otherwise dubious services claiming to solve various issues for profit.
Efforts to restrict magical and similar services are also underway in other Central Asian countries. In May of this year, Tajikistan introduced criminal penalties for practicing witchcraft and fortune-telling. Law enforcement officials in Tajikistan argue that "the low awareness of some superstitious people and exploitation by unscrupulous citizens" is leading more people to fall victim to fraud.
