Tag Archives: political rights

Freedom House criticises Azerbaijan

NOV. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The US-based Freedom House accused the Azerbaijani government of harassing two lawyers who have represented a number of clients that it said were later imprisoned for political reasons. Robert Herman, a Freedom House vice president said that Azerbaijan “should end its campaign of innuendo and threats against Elchin Sadiqov and Fariz Namazli, two of the few lawyers in the country who dare to represent political prisoners and bring attention to government wrongdoing.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)

Kazakh police block rallies for land activists

ALMATY, OCT. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Kazakhstan blocked demonstrations in support of two imprisoned organisers of protests earlier this year against proposed changes to the country’s land code.

The two land activists, Maks Bokayev and Talgat Ayan, have been on trial in Atyrau since Oct. 12 accused of trying to organise a coup, in one of the most highly-charged and politically sensitive trials this year. The demonstrations that they are accused of organising in March attracted wide popularity and spread across Kazakhstan, unnerving the government.

Apparently worried that the high- profile nature of the trial and the latent support for the defendants might trigger another round of mass protests, the authorities have been rounding up people gathering in support of Mr Bokayev and Mr Ayan.

Local media has reported that several people have been detained trying to attend these rallies and one activist said that he was beaten up by unknown men shortly after attending a rally in Atyrau.

For supporters of Mr Bokayev and Mr Ayan, the trial is a sham.

Bakhytzhan Toregozhina, a human rights activist, told The Conway Bulletin that she thought it was a purely political process.

“The judge pretends that she is neutral and listens carefully to both sides but this is a regular political trial in an authoritarian country, nothing new,” she said.

The authorities, though, have said the two men are coup plotters who had teamed up with Tokhtar Tuleshov, a millionaire brewery owner from Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan. Mr Tuleshov has been detained since January and is also charged with a coup attempt.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Tajik court sentences opposition members

OCT. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Tajik court sentenced Buzurgmehr Yorov and Nuriddin Makhamov, two lawyers of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), to 23 and 21 years in prison for fraud and inciting ethnic hatred. Last year, the IRPT was accused of plotting a coup. Human rights lobby groups said the charges against Yorov and Makhamov were trumped up.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 300, published on Oct. 14 2016)

Kyrgyz police releases wife of Tajik opposition figure

OCT. 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz police released the wife of Sobir Valiev, a Tajik opposition figure, 22 hours after her arrest. Kyrgyzstan’s Security Service said the woman, Zhannat Khamzayeva, was questioned regarding the alleged illegal activities of her husband. Mr Valiyev, a member of the opposition movement Group-24 who currently lives in Poland, is accused of illegal border crossing and forging documents. The Security Service ordered Ms Khamzayeva to remain in the country.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Young Tajiks attack on IRPT

SEPT. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A group of young pro-government demonstrators attacked the house of Rakhmatullo Rajab, a member of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) now in jail. The demonstrators threw rotten eggs onto the house, where Rajab’s relatives live. They also burned portraits of Rajab and other IRPT representatives, jailed last year after being accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the government. Human rights activists said this was just one of many violent attacks on the families of IRPT members.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)