Kazakhstan - crackdown against all opposition; activist Arman Ozhaubaev arrested

Campaign Kazakhstan (December 14, 2012) Nazarbayev's crackdown on media and opposition (Shame on you, Tony Blair!)

"Two socialist activists, Georgie Epstein and Arman Ozhaubayev, were arrested this morning in Alma-Aty by police, as they collected copies of a socialist newspaper from printers.

Currently they face ‘administrative arrest’ for two weeks or a fine. Ominously the authorities are threatening to charge them with ‘incitement to social discord’, which could carry much more serious sentence if they are found ‘guilty’.

President Nazarbayev’s despotic regime appears to making renewed efforts to crack down against all opposition. Just last week, Vadim Kuramshin, a well-known campaigner for prisoners’ rights and member of the Socialist Movement Kazakhstan, was jailed for 12 years. (For protests, see link)



Arman Ozhaubaev is born on October 21, 1986
http://campaignkazakhstan.org/index.php/2012/12/14/socialist-activists-georgie-epshtien-and-arman-ozhaubayev-arrested/
George Epstein is a russian citizen.


http://socialismkz.info/article/1355476568
Socialists arrested in Almaty - solidarity!


http://campaignkazakhstan.org/index.php/2012/12/14/london-campaign-kazakhstan-takes-the-protest-to-blair/

Free all political prisoners! Kazakhstan is a one man dictatorship. Workers across the country are paid starvation wages whilst a tiny minority become fabulously wealthy. When people stand up for their social, human, workers rights, they face vicious repression. Kazakhstan is constantly ranked amongst the lowest in the world for press freedom, human rights, but amongst the highest for corruption and embezzlement. Tony Blair has acted as an apologist for this regime, speaking on its behalf many times.
But this has not stopped people fighting back. The repression is met with a heroic fighback by many in Kazakhstan. Kazakh president Nazarbayev is preparing the way to become the next Mubarrak or Ben Ali.
 


Independent media being closed:
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/20905
On 20 November 2012, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan initiated a lawsuit against the newspapers Respublika and Vzglyad, the TV channel K+ and the online video portal Stan.tv, for their coverage of the violent breaking up of a demonstration by striking oil workers in Zhanaozen in December 2011 and the resulting trials. 



http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1780
Kazakhstan is enforcing the closures of many Muslim and Christian religious communities after the deadline for re-registration applications expired



http://www.tol.org/client/article/23485
As well as seeking a shutdown of the two political movements, the prosecutor’s office asked for a ban on the Respublika newspaper and associated outlets (a total of eight newspapers and 23 websites); Vzglyad newspaper (whose editor, Igor Vinyavskiy, was arrested in a post-Zhanaozen crackdown and later amnestied); the K+ satellite TV channel; and the Stan TV Internet TV station. All are accused of airing material “aimed at inciting social enmity” and containing calls to overthrow the state.


Defend and support human rights defender and lawyer Vadim Kuramshin! http://www.bureau.kz/data.php?page=0&n_id=5376&l=en
International Partnership for Human Rights and the Netherlands and Norwegian Helsinki Committees call on the Kazakhstani authorities to ensure that Vadim Kuramshin is not punished for his civic engagement and his exercise of freedom of expression and to release him in accordance with the jury decision of 28 August 2012. The Kazakhstani authorities should also put an end to the ongoing crackdown on free speech and alternative views in the country and comply with their international obligations in this area.

Moreover, our organizations call on the OSCE leadership and participating states to convey their concerns about the case of Kuramshin, in particular given his participation in the HDIM shortly before the renewal of the legal process against him. Any steps taken by national authorities to harass or punish civil society members in any way in relation to their participation in human dimension activities are contrary to the OSCE’s basic principles and the commitments jointly undertaken by participating states. Most recently, in the Astana Commemorative Declaration adopted during Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship in 2010, the OSCE states reconfirmed that they "value the important role played by civil society and free media in helping us to ensure full respect for human rights (and) fundamental freedoms (...)."






Foto: familjen Lindén