Kazakhstan's Democratic Forces Forum |
Save Sergey Duvanov!RNPK delegation urges OSCE in Vienna to call for immediate release of journalist On the eve of President Nazarbayev's visit to Vienna, on November 6 and 7, 2003, a delegation of the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan (RNPK) had a number of meetings with OSCE member states missions at the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Kazakh opposition in Vienna was represented by Amirzhan Kosanov, chairman of the RNPK executive committee and co-chair of the Forum of Democratic Forces, and Serik Meditbekov, head of the RNPK European office. They met with representatives of the UK, Germany, Russia, U.S., Ireland, Canada, Finland, and some other countries. During their talks with western diplomats, Mr. Kosanov and Mr. Meditbekov spoke of the fate of jailed journalist Sergey Duvanov, convicted on trumped-up charges by the Kazakh court. Mr. Duvanov has been a consistent and ardent critic of the N. Nazarbayev authoritarian rule and flagrant international corruption in which the Kazakh President has been involved. For his writings and articles he was charged with "insulting the honor and dignity of the President", brutally beaten in Almaty, and finally arrested and convicted on fabricated charges of raping an underage girl. Speaking about the Sergey Duvanov case, Amirzhan Kosanov who heads a public center for the journalist's defense, drew attention of his vis-a-vis to the fact that the Kazakh authorities lie to the international public saying that Mr. Duvanov's guilt has been established by a fair and independent court. As a matter of fact, the trial of the journalist abounded in violations of the defendant's rights. The OSCE observers and experts, sent by this organization to examine the materials of the case, established instances of outrageous pressure on the court on the part of law-enforcement and executive officials. Hardly anyone could expect a different decision from the Kazakh court which is highly dependent on the President administration, where all the judges are appointed directly by Mr. Nazarbayev. Before his forced emigration, Serik Meditbekov worked together with Sergey Duvanov as co-author of an independent news radio station project in Almaty. He told heads of missions of the high professional and moral reputation that Mr. Duvanov enjoys among the Kazakh public. The Kazakh guests detailed to western diplomats their own experience, which illustrates the current situation in their homeland. Just two weeks prior to his trip to Vienna, Amirzhan Kosanov was sentenced by the Kazakh court to a suspended one-year prison term for fictitious tax violations (Eurasia-Internet has published a series of articles about the trial.) Originally, the Kazakh justice and interior ministry denied Mr. Kosanov permission to travel to Vienna to attend the OSCE meetings. Just a couple of hours before the plane was due to take off, when the information of the official denial reached western embassies and international groups, the authorities reconsidered their decision. Serik Meditbekov described the situation regarding speech freedom in Kazakhstan, when the President's family members have monopolized almost all media outlets in the country. He used his own example to illustrate the way President's daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva laid her hands on his radio stations in the run-up to the 1999 presidential elections to "ensure her father's victory", as she put it herself. The founder of a media holding had to emigrate to a western country, followed by leading journalists, in particular by Tatiana Deltsova, who currently works for the BBC office in Moscow. Mr. Meditbekov presently heads the RNPK European office that operated without a head for a while. Getting back to Sergey Duvanov case, the opposition politicians from Kazakhstan urged missions of the OSCE member states to raise the question of the journalist's immediate release during the forthcoming Nursultan Nazarbayev's visit. The Kazakh President should be given to understand that the community of the European states along with the U.S. and Canada consider outrage and iniquity unacceptable forms of governance. Mr. Nazarbayev's reputation as the President, the image of his rule will remain very poor in the eyes of the international community until democracy and the rule of law will come to replace them. The Kazakh opposition views and fundamental principles of the OSCE member states fully coincide. Not only the friendly atmosphere of the meetings testifies to that, but also the concrete steps taken in anticipation of Nursultan Nazarbayev's visit and his forthcoming speech at an OSCE Permanent Council session. A joint group of the EU member states has taken a decision to include the issue of Sergey Duvanov's fate as item number 1 on the agenda of their talks with Nursultan Nazarbayev. In addition, the Kazakh President will be called to account regarding the prosecution of Yermurat Bapi, editor-in-chief of the Soldat newspaper, and harassment of other journalists and Mr. Nazarbayev's political opponents. U.S. representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has made a statement on the so-called Sergey Duvanov case, delivered by its Deputy Representative Douglas Davidson at the Permanent Council meeting that took place on November 6, 2003. The following is the text of the statement by the U.S. mission. Statement on Sergey Duvanov Case November 6, 2003 The United States too is deeply disappointed with the failure of Kazakhstan's Supreme Court to address problems with due process at the trial of Sergey Duvanov. The Supreme Court's decision to reject Mr. Duvanov's appeal is a setback for the development of a Kazakh judicial system that provides the necessary safeguard for the rights of a defendant at trial. Moreover, the failure to examine due process claims is at odds with Kazakhstan's commitment to OSCE principles, particularly since the report commissioned by the CiO concluded that the trial was characterized by procedural violations. The United States would like to hear how Kazakhstan intends to address this problem, and what solutions could be offered as a legal remedy in the Duvanov case, where the courts so clearly fell short of protecting criminal procedural due process. Eurasia-Internet, November 10, 2003 |
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