Campaign Kazakhstan

Country-wide attacks on the opposition – independent journalist shot in Uralsk

The mass trial of oil workers in Zhanaozen, west Kazakhstan, is now going through the stage of examining the defendants. The testimony is tear-jerking.
About eight defendants each day are taking the stand and their stories are much the same. They are refusing to confirm their original testimonies, stating they were extracted under torture.
A number, including Shamilov, Tilegenov, Otebekov, Shamov, Abdrakhmanov, Amanzholov and Aminov, related what happened to them when they were in Zhanaozen city on 16 December, last year. They saw buildings burning. They were unable to escape from shooting and ended up wounded in hospital. They were called to a police station to make “witnesses” statements. They were then found arrested, beaten, terrorized and forced to sign statements.
One defendant, Edipov, after seeing footage of himself on TV decided to present himself to the political police, the KNB. He was told that he would be a witness and given witness protection, if he gave evidence against 15 others. He refused. Having “turned down their kind offer” the police started to beat Edipov. They covered his head with a polythene bag six times and nearly suffocated him. They threatened to rape him and show the film on face book. Edipov alleged that one of the investigators, Bakyt Mendybayev, put a pistol to his head several times and threatened to throw him into the yard to be torn to pieces by hungry dogs.
Mother of three children and strike activist, Roza Tuletaeva, also said she had been nearly suffocated by bags put over her head and she was beaten with iron rods. As Tuletaeva described the hell she had been through, many were crying in the hall.
Earlier this week, two other notorious court cases started. In Shepte, the scene of more shootings by the police on 16 December, a second trial of striking oil workers opened. Two of the accused reported that their lawyers were unable to attend as they were acting for defendants in Aktau. The judge considered their case for ten minutes before declaring that the court would continue anyway, with court-appointed lawyers representing the two. This lead to uproar in the hall. All those present, including the defendants, stood up and said they would refuse to participate. It took the judge some time to get the court room cleared before announcing the trial would continue behind closed doors.

Trial of Vadim Kuramshin begins

The trial of Vadim Kuramshin also started in the southern city of Taraz. Again the judge refused to hear the lawyer’s appeals against breaches of procedure.
A further trial is now threatened against the workers at the Kazakhmys factory, who threatened to go on strike, last month.
Once again, repression is being stepped up against the Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan. Three leading SMK activists were yesterday summoned to the Almy Ata City mayor’s office for a “discussion” which was also attended by “analysts from the KNB” political police. They were essentially offered money, grants, favours and anything else they wanted. They were asked to conduct themselves “quietly”, that is promise that “no action would be taken against Ainur Kurmanov [a leading member of SMK who has been forced into exile by the regime] if he turned to the country and conducted himself responsibly!” The offer was politely rejected!
On 19 April, police raided the Socialist Movement’s office in the city, claiming they were looking for evidence against Dmitry Tikhonov, on charges of “Cyber terrorism”. After 20 minutes, the police left without further explanation.
State attention is being paid to the Socialist Movement because the other two main opposition groups – Alga and the Social Democratic Party – are in disarray. The former has had its leadership arrested. The Social Democratic Party has split, with one side going over to the regime.
Activists involved in organizing monthly opposition demonstrations of the ‘Unagreed’ say that the only organized force left is the SMK. But in many cities, these protests are being organized by people who have decided enough is enough.
In the western Kazakhstan industrial city of Uralsk, an independent journalist, Lukpan Akhmedyarova, who organized one of the most successful of these opposition rallies, was shot in the street on the evening of 19 April. He is in a serious condition, although conscious, in hospital, and awaiting an emergency operation.
The next round of rallies of the ‘Unagreed’ takes place on 28 April. Please keep sending protests to the Embassies of Kazakhstan and other Kazakh interests throughout the world.

Court hears new allegations of police planning for Zhanaozen massacre
Andrei Tsukanov

The trial continues of 37 oil workers in connection with the events of 16 December in the city of Zhanaozen, western Kazakhstan, when riot police shot dead scores of oil workers and their supporters during a protest.

The oil workers’ defense lawyers have detailed many breaches of the legal process.
The cross examination of the “victims” has now been completed. The victims, listed in the prosecution documents, are those, mainly small businessmen (street traders) and ordinary citizens, whose property, according to the prosecution, was destroyed during the “riot” on 16 December. Unfortunately for the prosecution, many refused to give evidence, saying they had not seen the accused on the day of the events. As these statements were made, the court room burst into applause.

This left the prosecution resting its case on a second group of “victims”, mainly members of the police and security forces who had taken part in breaking up the peaceful demonstration and who are now claiming “damages” for the “suffering” that followed. As these people were questioned, the room kept breaking out into howls of disbelief.

The temperature rose even higher when the police took the stand. Defendant Parakhat Duisembayev recognized one of the police as responsible for shooting into the crowd. Duisembayev asked the police officer: “Why did you shoot unarmed people? My father was killed, my sister is now an invalid”.  His voice breaking with emotion, Duisembayev accused the police of killing people in custody before he collapsed against the glass walls of the cage used to detain the prisoners in the court room. The police carried Duisembayev out of the court room while still he was still unconscious and returned him to the cage just 15 minutes later.

The next day, 5 April, the accused staged a protest against the exclusion of reporters from the trial by refusing to sit on the benches in the cage. They remained standing throughout the three hours of the morning session. Even though the judge has let some reporters into the court-room itself, they are not allowed to film or tape proceedings.

Accused’s torture claims

One of the accused, Yessengeld Abdurakhmanov, gave evidence on the use of torture while he was being questioned during which he caught tuberculosis. (TB is rife in Kazakhstan’s prisons and prisoners are sometimes put into cells with TB sufferers as punishment. Although TB is highly contagious, Abdurakhmanov was still kept in the glass cage with the other accused).  “On the 16th and 17th (December) I was in the remand cells in Zhanaozen, stripped naked and forced to lie on cold iron whilst they poured freezing water over us. Then masked riot police beat us with truncheons every few minutes so that we could not even lift our heads. Then this fat bloke came in, jumped on my back.  With my mouth full of blood, I started coughing more up before they called an ambulance. It was then I caught TB…”

Government supporters backed by the pro-government ‘National Centre for Human Rights’ representative, Rishat Rakhimov, claim that “the examination of this unprecedented case is being conducted openly, in observance with the constitution, the law, international standards with the assurance of the rights of all citizens and the examination of all necessary documents.”

Yet when the lawyer Talgat Saktaganov asked for all charges to be dropped against his client on the grounds that the only person in the court claiming to be a victim of Talgat’s client’s actions was the police investigator examining his case, he was refused. Even according to Kazakhstan’s inadequate laws, it is forbidden for a “victim” to act as an investigator.

During the cross examination of one of the accused, the prosecuting lawyer burst out: “Come outside, I’ll sort you out there”. This met with no riposte from the judge.  In other cases, the accused complain that the “victims” giving evidence are the same policemen who tortured them.

Remarkably, even some of the police witnesses say that the stones that were thrown at them on 16 December, in Zhanaozen, came from youth who were clearly not oil workers. Some police have withdrawn their earlier statements against the accused.

But other police show incredible nerve, claiming it is they that suffered psychological and physical harm. Defense lawyer Zhamenov commented: “They show no proof of having been in shock or collapsing from stress. If that had been the case they would not have been able to work. … There have been no doctor’s examinations conducted to demonstrate this harm has been done”.

Sensational revelations

More sensational revelations are expected. Myltykov, Head of Public Order for the Mangystau region, gave evidence that he was ordered to go to Zhanaozen with 170 police and 14 riot police in full gear on the 14 December, two days before the massacre. He said he was sent to maintain order during a holiday. Another senior inspector told how he had been sent to Zhanaozen “until further orders”.  Erlan Kaliev, from the ‘Zhanaozen 2011’ commission asked, if 16 December was a national holiday, celebrated across the country, why were extra police officers dispatched to Zhanaozen, in particular?

The Head of Public Order for Zhanaozen confirmed what the strikers have always claimed, by admitting that on 14 December he saw an official strikers’ application to holding a public rally. The rally’s organizing committee asked no provocations, for the main square in Zhanaozen to be available for the rally and free from any other events.

In the light of this evidence, it is clear the authorities planned not to allow a peaceful rally to take place on 16 December 2011.  The owners of Yurts (a Yurt is a traditional Kazakh tent) that were burnt down in the square on the 16 December, all stated that they did not want to erect their tents in the square on that day, as they were not sure of what would happen..  They reported that they were called in by the Akim (Mayor) and police chief and told they would be forcibly made to erect their yurts. They said they were told, “If your Yurt is burnt down we will pay you two million tenge [about 10000 euros] compensation”.

If the authorities were worried about disorder on the 16 December, why did they not prepare in advance water cannons, tear gas and noise grenades, asked Erlan Kaliev. It appears they knew of the danger of disorder and armed themselves only with Kalashnikovs.

Please send messages of support to those on trial in Zhanaozen to: suieuov@gmail.com, umbetov14@mail.ru with a copy to kazakhstansolidarity@gmail.com

Prison rights campaigner faces 7-15 years in jail

The case of Vadim Kuramshin has been rushed to court, notwithstanding the protests of his lawyers. The Prosecutor has ignored the complaints made on Vadim’s behalf about numerous breaches of legal procedure. The preliminary hearing will now be held beginning on 17th April in the special regional criminal court for the Zhambulskaya oblast, Kazakhstan.

Vadim is being charged with extortion. He was arrested on 24th January, just before he was about to hold a press conference at which details were to be given of the corruption of members of the Prosecutors office. Instead he was arrested after the Deputy Prosecutor alleged that Vadim had attempted to extort a large bribe from him. Since his arrest, Vadim has been kept in the Remand Prison in the city of Taraz, near the border with Kyrghizstan. (See our article “how Vadim Kuramshin was arrested” for fuller explanation).

If found guilty, Vadim faces between seven and fifteen years in prison. As a result of trumped up charges in revenge for his uncovering of corruption in northern Kazakhstan, Vadim has already spent oven ten years of his life in the country’s brutal prisons, during which he was subjected to unthinkable torture.

Vadim, his lawyers and supporters are convinced that the charge of extortion is no more than a provocation by the country’s political police – the KNB – as a means of physically removing him from the struggle for justice They want to ‘neutralize’ Vadim, one of the country’s most effective human rights campaigners, by using this absurd accusation to put him away for more long years.

Please send messages of support to Vadim and his supporters to baitelova@gmail.com with copies to Kazakhstansolidarity@gmail.com

Austrian singer/songwriter, Laura Rafetseder, made a song about the struggle of the kazakh oil workers. She writes:

“The streaming/download of the song is free, but as the oil workers’ struggle and the struggles against the undemocratic regime in kazakhstan continue, I would ask you to donate directly to the campaign kazakhstan (the donations will be used for the building of independent trade unions and social movements): http://campaignkazakhstan.org/index.php/donate/

Link to the ballad of Zhanaozen on youtube

Detained opposition activists face new charges of “terrorism”

Occasional good news from Kazakhstan is tempered by a wave of bad reports, as the autocratic regime of Nazarbayev steps up its attacks against the opposition fighting for social, democratic and political rights. The only item of good news this week is that Aidos Sadykov, opposition journalist and independent trade unionist, who already spent three years in prison, is to be amnestied. This follows a refusal to release him in December 2011 and it is only a small gain as Sadykov was due for release in July, anyway.

But in Mangystau, a court hearing against arrested oil strikers and their supporters got off to an ignominious start. Thirty seven strikers and their supporters are charged with crimes ranging from rioting, organizing a riot, using weapons and resisting the authorities. Almost all of the accused face charges carrying sentences of up to ten years. This follows events in Zhanaozen, western Kazakhstan, last November, when police and riot troops opened fire on unarmed demonstrators and their supporters, following a seven month oil workers’ strike.

To the disgust of the Zhenaozen people, the court was held 150 kilometers away, in Aktau. Despite this, the court room was packed out, as supporters and relatives sought to observe the trial. Several hundred were left outside provoking them to hold a protest outside the City Government building, demanding a larger courtroom is used for the trial. As the accused were brought into the court in handcuffs and shuffled into a glass cage, applause broke out in the spectator’s hall. Many of the relatives present had not seen the accused for nearly three months.

Reporters and human rights activists banned from court

The judge set the tone for this frame up at the very start by banning reporters from recording proceedings and denying human rights activists in the court room. The judge announced that no member of the police or investigation team would be required to attend the court. He said that the evidence would be presented only in written form, thus preventing the charged the right to cross examine the police.

This is particularly significant as the evidence presented in a 300 page dossier relies almost exclusively on police and prosecutor statements. Hardly anyone, apart from a few anti-strike workers, came forward as an independent witness. A study of the documents indicates that the charges against the workers are based on extremely thin ‘evidence’. For example, the claims made against Rosa Tuletaeva, one of the strike leaders. The investigators claim that a tweet sent by Rosa on the 15 December that said: “They are putting up yurts in the square, the Akim [City Mayor] is threatening the strikers”, was a call “to organize mass disorder”. Another tweet which read “Oh, Allah, give my people strength”, was interpreted by the prosecution as the wish to make sure the planned criminal action went according to plan!

But public opinion is on the side of the accused. At the beginning of the court case, 30 local businesses announced that they did not wish to claim any compensation from the accused for losses to their property caused by the fires and disorder on 16 December. They expressed doubts that the accused were responsible. Several of local business people stated they were forced by the local authorities to place their kiosks and yurts (traditional trading tents) in certain places on the 16 December and promised that they would be compensated when these structures were destroyed. The only organisations that have not withdrawn their claims are linked to the state or the employer. They include the BTA bank, which previously belonged to opposition oligarch Ablyazov.

People do not believe regime’s claims

While some of these business owners have, to their credit, place lives before their own profits, they are also under big pressure from the rest of the population. Many people do not believe the regime’s claim that the strikers were the rioters. They know that there are many witnesses who saw how police and provocateurs were actually the instigators of the violence last year, not the oil workers and their families.
Unfortunately, on the eve of the trial, Natalia Sokolova, the former lawyer for the oil workers, who spent seven months in jail after being sentenced to seven years for “inciting social disorder”, turned against the workers. Sokolova appeared on TV, clearly following an agreement with the state, to announce that she had been wrong to support the strike, had been guilty of inciting social disorder and had been released due to the “fairness” of the Kazakh justice system! Having obviously done a deal with the authorities to obtain her early release, Sokolova allowed herself to be used to undermine the case of all the workers and strikers who are currently on trial. In doing so, Sokolova demonstrated not that the Kazakhstan justice system is “fair”, but, on the contrary, has demonstrated, once again, that prison sentences depend not on whether a crime has been committed but on whether the person sentenced is “for” or “against” the regime.
Now workers at the KazakhMys plant in central Kazakhstan, who last week threatened to go on strike until company management agreed to a 25% pay rise, are also being investigated and are threatened with similar charges to those at Zhanaozen.

The Kazakhstan regime is prepared to go to any lengths to ensure they get the results they want. If the Nazarbayev regime gets away with these sham ‘trials’, opposition figures currently detained will probably also face new court trials. Not only are they facing charges of inciting social conflict but it has now been announced that some will be charged with the very serious allegation of “terrorism”.

All this shows the international campaign against the repressive Nazarbayev regime needs to be continued.