Tag: Kazakhstan

Executive summary To analyse Kyrgyzstan’s capacity to help Russia circumvent sanctions, it is important to consider the internal political situation in Kyrgyzstan under President Sadyr Japarov. Kyrgyzstan has long been considered an “island of freedom” in Central Asia, with a number of independent media outlets, independent MPs and an active civil society. However, the authoritarian […]

Executive summary In 2022 and 2023, the Kazakhstani authorities have repeatedly convinced the international community of their alleged commitment to “preventing the use of the Kazakhstani territory to bypass sanctions”. “Appropriate measures” have been adopted (such as the creation of a “list of sanctioned goods”, the signing of a law “on the control of specific […]

On 17 and 18 April 2023, a delegation led by the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) conducted an advocacy mission to Rome to raise awareness on the abuse of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) rules perpetrated by authoritarian regimes as a tool for transnational repression, and to expose how Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan […]

Executive summary It has been a year since Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. All this time, Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev-Tokayev regime has been assisting Russia with impunity in circumventing sanctions and financing the war against Ukraine. On 28 February 2023, on the day of the first official visit to Kazakhstan by the U.S. Secretary of […]

Joint submission of the civil society coalition regarding the Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing Can the EU’s anti-money laundering reform help dictators? As the European Union gets closer to adopting […]

On 29 November 2022, a court in Kyzylorda sentenced Kazybek Kudaibergenov to 17 years in prison. He was found guilty of “participation in the mass disorders” (Article 272 of the Criminal Code) during the January events, as well as “use of violence against a representative of the authority and attempt on the life of a […]

Following the article by Mark Hollingsworth, published by The Spectator on 14 January 2023, we would like to highlight the fact that the Open Dialogue Foundation has little to no history of cooperation with former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, one of the main suspects in the so-called Qatargate affair. It is necessary to note that […]

Executive summary On 31 October 2022, a newly created, supposed NGO, the Institute for European Integrity (IEI), published an entry for the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) as part of its “NGO Watchlist.” IEI labelled the Foundation as an organisation with alleged “strong links to individual(s) sanctioned or criminally prosecuted by a European Union, United States […]

1. Introduction Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Kazakhstani authorities has repeatedly declared its “respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” [1], [2], [3]. Kazakhstani officials try to assure Ukraine and the international community that Kazakhstan is “complying with the sanctions” against Russia, although it is not “joining them“. In practice, the […]

1. Introduction After Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kazakhstani authorities stated that Kazakhstan “respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine” and “has not and will not recognise both the situation with Crimea and the situation with Donbass” [1], [2]. In June 2022, President Tokayev declared non-recognition of the so-called “LPR” […]

Disclaimer: This brief contains lists of political prisoners, victims of torture and mass shooting in January 2022, victims of political persecution, including Kazakhstani human rights defenders, and Karakalpakstani civil activists (at risk of extradition to Uzbekistan) – identified by human rights defenders. The lists are not exhaustive. The information provided in this brief has been […]

In the weeks of 26 September – 7 October the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Warsaw-based Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) held its 2022 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, serving as a summit, or plenary session, of the OSCE’s human rights institution. The conference was attended by OSCE […]

After the tragic January events, the Kazakhstani authorities publicly refused to ensure an international investigation into the matter and said they would conduct an objective and full investigation themselves

Key points In early January 2022, mass protests were held across Kazakhstan demanding that Nursultan Nazarbayev step down from power and extensive political reforms. The authorities declared protesters ‘terrorists’ and resorted to a violent crackdown on the protests, ordering to shoot to kill without warning. A Russian-led CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organisation) military force was […]

Kazakhstan’s official position: By 27 March 2022, neither president Tokayev nor the government of Kazakhstan has declared Kazakhstan’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity or has called on Russia to end its aggression against Ukraine. On 22 February 2022, just two days before Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi stated that “the issue […]