Tag: Nursultan Nazarbayev

On 5 January 2022, 10 Human Rights NGOs, including the Open Dialogue Foundation, issued an appeal on the current protests taking place in Kazakhstan. Against the backdrop of the massive street protests against the government and the Nazarbayev regime, which were met with widespread repression, ODF and its partners have condemned the government’s violence and […]

In February 2019, mass peaceful protests, unprecedented in their scale and nature of demands, were held in different regions of Kazakhstan. Protesters complained of poverty and corruption, demanding reforms, improvement of social security and the resignation of the President.

On 12 July 2018, eight MEPs signed an open letter addressed to President Nazarbayev decrying the human rights situation in Kazakhstan. MEPs J. Stetina, P. Austrevicius, T. Kelam, W. Klinz, A. Gomes, H. Hautala, V. Mazuronis and J. Nart denounced the reduction of the space for civil liberties.

On 23 April 2018, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) addressed a letter to the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, expressing its concerns over Kazakhstani lawyer and political refugee Botagoz Jardemalie.

Zhanbolat Mamay refused to give ‘self-incriminating testimony’ on the case of BTA Bank. After that he was beaten in detention centre and was threatened with reprisal. Zhanbolat Mamay has become yet another victim of the criminal case against the opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov.

Between 14 and 16 February, 2017, a delegation of the Open Dialogue Foundation was present at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The aim of the visit was to discuss the current human rights, political and economic situation in Kazakhstan.

On February 11, 2017, chief editor of the opposition newspaper ‘Tribuna’, Zhanbolat Mamay, was arrested. The Kazakhstani authorities have labelled him a ‘member of Mukhtar Ablyazov’s criminal group’. The charges against the journalist are based on the testimony of the refugee Zhaksylyk Zharimbetov,.

France recognised the political nature of the prosecution of Mukhtar Ablyazov, a longtime opponent of Nursultan Nazarbayev. The need to obtain ‘additional testimonies’ against Ablyazov led to the intensification of a ‘hunt’ for former top managers of BTA Bank.

On 21 January, 2017 Turkish special services along with Kazakhstan special services took Zhaksylyk Zharimbetov, colleague of Kazakh opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov, out from Turkey to an unknown destination. Zharimbetov was granted refugee status in Great Britain.

The Kazakhstani regime, and, in particular, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s lobbyists have done everything in their power to make the first meeting with the opposition politician particularly memorable.

The Kazakhstani regime, and, in particular, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s lobbyists have done everything in their power to make the first meeting with the opposition politician particularly memorable.

We call upon the Czech authorities to defend Tatiana Paraskevich who has been exposed to persecution as a part of politically motivated case and now faces new threats.

Vladimir Kozlov, Kazakh dissident, released from prison last month, after almost five years spent behind bars, wrote a letter to the Open Dialogue Foundation. In the letter, he calls ODF activists his friends and thanks them for their dedication in fighting for his freedom.

Vladimir Kozlov, Kazakh dissident and leader of the biggest opposition party “Alga” was released from prison after nearly five years spent behind bars.

On 30 March, 2016, Jean-Claude Juncker met with Nursultan Nazarbayev – a dictator, who has single-handedly governed Kazakhstan for over 25 years. The President of the European Commission stated that his ‘good friend’ Nazarbayev was ‘sensitive’ to the problems of human rights.