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Sergei Duvanov (born 1953) is a prominent Kazakhstani journalist who, in 2002, wrote articles that claimed President Nursultan Nazarbayev and several other Kazakh politicians had illicit Swiss bank accounts containing millions of U.S.' dollars. The scandal was labeled "Kazakhgate". [1]
In 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice investigated Kazakhgate. [1] Duvanov was arrested in October 2002 at his datcha outside Almaty and accused of raping a 14-year-old girl. The arrest occurred one day before he visited the United States to speak about Kazakhstan's human rights situation. [2] In January, 2003 he was found guilty and sentenced to three and a half years in prison. The International League for Human Rights (ILHR), a New York-based human rights watchdog, condemned the Kazakhstani government's persecution of Sergei Duvanov. On the initiative of its Central Asia Project Manager Peter Zalmayev, ILHR awarded Duvanov (in absentia) its annual human rights award at a ceremony held at the United Nations on December 9, 2002. [3] As of 15 January 2004, he is under a prison regime which allows him to go to work and live at home. However, Duvanov is not allowed to go to public places (a notion undetermined by Kazakh law). [4] Duvanov, and the opposition, claim that the case was politically motivated. [2] On January 15, 2004, Duvanov was released on probation. [5]
Legislative elections were held in Kazakhstan on 19 September and 3 October 2004. The Otan party won 42 of the 77 seats, gaining a majority in the Mäjilis.
Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan is a political party in Kazakhstan. It was founded by Mukhtar Ablyazov, a businessman and a former minister and Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, who was the akim of Pavlodar Region. The QDT embraced a number of influential politicians and wealthy businessmen of the country who grew disillusioned with the inner circles of President Nazarbayev. The movement adopted a strong anti-Nazarbayev stance and criticized the corruption and nepotism of the president and his clique. The party seeks to peacefully topple the current Kazakh regime and to transform Kazakhstan into a parliamentary republic.
Human rights in Kazakhstan are uniformly described as poor by independent observers. Human Rights Watch says that "Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly, speech, and religion. In 2014, authorities closed newspapers, jailed or fined dozens of people after peaceful but unsanctioned protests, and fined or detained worshipers for practicing religion outside state controls. Government critics, including opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov, remained in detention after unfair trials. Torture remains common in places of detention."
Kаzаkhgаtе refers to the scandal surrounding James Giffen, an American businessman and former advisor of Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The threat of terrorism in Kazakhstan plays an increasingly important role in relations with the United States which in 2006 were at an all-time high. Kazakhstan has taken Uzbekistan's place as the favored partner in Central Asia for both Russia and the United States. Kazakhstan's counter-terrorism efforts resulted in the country's 94th ranking among 130 countries in the 2016 Global Terrorism Index published by the Institute of Economics and Peace. The higher the position on the ranking is, the bigger the impact of terrorism in the country. Kazakhstan's 94th place puts it in a group of countries with the lowest impact of terrorism.
Azimzhan Askarov was a Kyrgyzstani political activist who founded the group Vozduh in 2002 to investigate police brutality. Of ethnic Uzbek descent, during the 2010 South Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes, which primarily targeted people of the Uzbek nationality, Askarov worked to document the violence.
Ramazan Yesergepov is a Kazakhstani journalist, whose 2009 arrest led to international concerns about the freedom of the media in Kazakhstan. Prior to his arrest he was the editor of Alma-Ata Info.
Peter Zalmayev is a political scientist and director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative (EDI), an international non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of democracy and human rights in post-Communist transitional societies of Eastern and Central Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Irina Petrushova is a Russian journalist, founder and editor-in-chief of the weekly Respublika in Kazakhstan. After a series of stories exposing government corruption in Kazakhstan, her life was threatened and her paper firebombed. In 2002, she was awarded a CPJ International Press Freedom Award.
The Zhanaozen massacre took place in Kazakhstan's western Mangystau Region over the weekend of 16–17 December 2011. At least 14 protestors were killed by police in the oil town of Zhanaozen as they clashed with police on the country's Independence Day, with unrest spreading to other towns in the oil-rich oblys, or region. According to Amnesty International, the massacre was a stark illustration of the country's poor human rights record under President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Bolat Atabaev was a Kazakhstani theater director who in 2012 was charged with "inciting social discord" for his role in the 2011 Mangystau riots. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience. He was released on 3 July 2012.
Vladimir Ivanovich Kozlov is a Kazakh journalist and politician who has been a leader of the democratic opposition in Kazakhstan and a candidate for his country's presidency. In 2012, he was the defendant in what Deutsche Welle described as "the first political trial in Kazakhstan." The US charged Kazakhstan with using its criminal-justice system "to silence a leading opposition voice." Kozlov, who was found guilty and served a prison sentence, has been designated by Amnesty International as a "prisoner of conscience." He was released in 2016.
Janbolat Mamai is a Kazakh journalist and political activist who serves as the leader of the Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, and was previously the editor of the Tribuna newspaper. Since his first arrest in 2012, Mamai has become a prominent figure in the Kazakh opposition.
The 2018–2020 Kazakh protests were a series of civil protests that took place in cities across Kazakhstan, commencing in May 2018 and gaining traction after a fire in Nur-Sultan killed five children in February 2019. Some commentators attribute President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev's decision to dismiss the government of Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev later that month in part to the protests. Nazarbayev later himself resigned on 19 March 2019 and was replaced as president by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the speaker of the upper house of parliament. Nazarbayev continued to hold several political positions. Tokayev called a snap election, the 2019 Kazakh presidential election, which saw him elected with over 70% of the vote. Both the run-up to and the aftermath of the election saw further protests.
Alnur Ilyashev is a Kazakhstani human rights activist. He was arrested in April, 2020, for writing Facebook posts critiquing the Nur Otan Party and its officials.
Bakhytzhan Toregozhina is a Kazakhstani human rights activist who campaigned against the violations of fundamental rights in Kazakhstan for over two decades. She has been the head of a coalition of civil societies, Qantar 2022, and the president of another Public Foundation, Ar.Rukh.Khak which represents Dignity, Spirit, and Truth. She also organized various youth movements. Toregozhina was acclaimed as a leading voice representing victims of torture, abuse, and politicized repression. On 8 March 2023, she received the 2023 International Women of Courage Award, which was presented to her and other nominees by Jill Biden and Anthony J. Blinken at the U.S. Department of State.
Marat Tolegenuly Zhylanbayev is a Kazakhstani long-distance runner, human rights activist and politician. As an athlete, Zhylanbayev became known for running Ultramarathons across the largest deserts in Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. After starting his political career in local politics in the city of Ekibastuz from the late 1990s, Zhylanbayev became more widely known as an activist following the 2022 Kazakh unrest, when he attempted to officially register his own political party, Alga, Kazakhstan!. In May 2023 he was arrested and charged with "financing extremist activities" and "participating in a banned extremist organisation"; he has since been described as a political prisoner by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Human Rights Watch.
Duman Almasuly Mukhammedkarim is a Kazakhstani journalist. After decades working for the Qazaqstan Radio and Television Corporation, he founded his own YouTube channel, Ne Deidi, in 2015, from which he covered significant events in Kazakhstan, including most notably the January Events. In 2023, Mukhammedkarim was arrested and detained multiple times over a three-month period, and since June 2023 has been detained under charges of funding and participating in extremist activities, which human rights organisations have described as "dubious" and a "gross violation" of his human rights.
Aqylbek Muratov, also known as Aqylbek Muratbai, is a Karakalpak human rights activist. Originally from Navoiy, Uzbekistan, Muratov has since become well known as a community leader within the Karakalpak diaspora living in Kazakhstan.
The Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR) is a non-governmental organisation that advocates for human rights in Kazakhstan. It has been described as the "leading human rights organisation" in the country, and has faced opposition from the Kazakhstani government since its formation in 1993.
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