The HRW statement comes two days after security services arrested the leader of unregistered Algha (Forward) party, Vladimir Kozlov, and independent newspaper “Vzglyad” (Glance) editor Igor Vinyavsky.
Authorities say the two were arrested in connection with deadly clashes between police and striking oil workers in the southwestern Kazakh oil town of Zhanaozen, where at least 16 people were killed when gunfire erupted on December 16.
On January 23, law-enforcement officers arrested prominent Kazakh human rights activist Vadim Kuramshin in southern Zhambyl Oblast and charged him with extortion. Kuramshin’s lawyer told RFE/RL that his client was in custody and an investigation launched over an alleged attempt to extort money from a local official in the prosecutor’s office.
WATCH: A group of Kazakh opposition activists gathered in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, on January 25 to honor protesters killed in a December 16 clash with police and security forces in the western city of Zhanaozen. The violence, which killed at least 16 and injured more than 100 people, came six months after thousands of oil workers launched a strike over working conditions:
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Meanwhile, opposition politician Serikzhan Mambetalin, the former leader of the Ruhaniyat (Spiritual Strength) party, fled Kazakhstan for London last week, citing fears of pressure and arrest. Mambetalin told RFE/RL that he does not plan to return anytime soon. He said “political oppression against opposition politicians has increased.”
Mambetalin’s party, which was barred from taking part in parliamentary elections earlier this month, criticized authorities in December for apparently opening fire on striking oil workers in Zhanaozen.
Source Article from http://www.rferl.org/content/hrw_urges_kazakh_authorities_stop_arresting_dissidents/24463176.html
