On the 19th of June, 2012, in the European Parliament, a hearing on Kazakhstan was held. The conference was entitled: The Zhanaozen trials and their meaning for the regime’s credibility. A wind of change or just an apparent liberalisation? Freedom for Vinyavskiy and Sokolova as the necessity to improve the regimes’ image worldwide’.
The event was organised under the auspices of MEP Joanna Senyszyn, S&D, Vice-Chair of the DROI Committee and MEP Piotr Borys, EPP, Substitute member of the DCAS Delegation.
Among our guest panelists were lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists who personally attended the Zhanaozen trials of the striking oil workers in Aktau:
- Alla Zlobina and Zhanar Kassymbekova, journalists of the newspaper Respublika (they were present at all trials in Aktau);
- Assel Nurgaziyeva, human rights defender and the representative to the OSCE in Zhanaozen trials up to the 2nd May 2012;
- Amangeldy Shormanbayev, lawyer and human rights defender;
- Igor Vinyavskiy, editor in chief of the “Vzglyad” newspaper.
