JUNE 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in western Kazakhstan convicted 34 people of instigating a riot that killed 15 people in the town of Zhanaozen in December. The trial was one of the most politically sensitive in Kazakhstan’s post- Soviet history. Of the 34 people convicted, 13 were sent to prison.
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(News report from Issue No. 091, published on June 8 2012)
MAY 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s Supreme Court banned a Muslim extremist group called Jamaat Ansarullah, media reported. Jamaat Ansarullah claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Khujand, north Tajikistan, in 2010 that killed 3 policemen. It has also been linked to al Qaeda.
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(News report from Issue No. 087, published on May 11 2012)
APRIL 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Kazakh court extended by 6 months a ban on Kazakhstan’s Communist Party, one of the few opposition political parties with nationwide support. The Communist Party was first banned in October for 6 months for colluding with an outlawed party. This ban covered a parliamentary election in January.
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(News report from Issue No. 085, published on April 27 2012)
NOV. 17 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia completed its first ever jury trial when a 12-person panel convicted a man for a triple murder in 1994. The introduction of juries is considered an important step for modernising Georgia’s justice system. Currently, juries can only be used in murder trials.
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(News report from Issue No. 66, published on Nov. 23 2011)
SEPT. 21 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s parliament passed a draft law that restricts Muslims’ right to worship in the workplace and requires missionaries of all religions to register with the authorities every year. The draft law is part of a raft of new legislation in Kazakhstan to try and clampdown on militant Islam.
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(News report from Issue No. 58, published on Sept. 27 2011)
OCT. 1 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia introduced the possibility of juries in Tbilisi courts for trials of aggravated homicide. News reports said this will be the first time in the South Caucasus juries are used. If the prosecution and defence agree they can select a judge-led trial instead.
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)
SEPT. 13 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s President Roza Otunbayeva replaced several top judicial and law enforcement officials. Ms Otunbayeva has said she is worried about violence at the Oct. 10 parliamentary election. She replaced the Prosecutor-General, the Interior Minister and the head of the Supreme Court.
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(News report from Issue No. 7, published on Sept. 16 2010)