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21st Century Pirates:
Companies Kaztelecom and Nursat
U.S. State Department has drawn the international public attention to
the illegal and nearly pirate practice of Kazakhstan's largest Internet providers,
Kaztelecom and Nursat, which deny their users access to the Eurasia web site.
The Human Rights Practices Report: Kazakhstan
published on 4 March 2002 in Washington describes the political censorship practiced by
these two Internet providers as follows: "Clients of the two largest Internet
providers, Kaztelecom and Nursat, periodically were blocked from direct access to the
opposition Evrasia Web site, although access was still available through proxy servers. In
September human rights monitors alleged that Kaztelecom and Nursat users were unwittingly
viewing a "mirror site" of the opposition Cvrasia page. On the "mirror
site" users view a page that mimics the original, but without material highly
critical of the Government."
Kazakh citizens appear to have fallen victims to the illegal manipulation by the companies
Nursat and Kaztelecom who follow the orders of Kazakh secret services. Paying for the
ISP's services, their customers in Kazakhstan are provided with poor service. In doing so,
these ISPs violate a vital human right to unimpeded access to information. This right is
guaranteed by the Constitution of Kazakhstan and provided by many international treaties
which the Nazarbayev regime pretends to have accepted but do not observe.
Lots of letters that the Eurasia Information and Analytical Center (IAC) receives from
Kazakhstan help to get a clear picture of how cynically and consistently the Nursat and
Kaztelecom companies have been violating the Net's most significant ethical standards.
Their executives dare not admit the fact of political pressure from the National Security
Committee, so they go on lying and denying their interfering with information exchange and
their secret censorship practice.
However, it would be wrong to view Nursat and Kaztelecom as the unwilling aides of the
Kazakh secret services. Contrary to that, the two providers have been actively involved in
the National Security Committee's activities (NSC). For instance, they are responsible for
the guilty verdict in the Sergey
Musorin's case, who was arrested by the NSC and sentensed to 1 year in prison
for demanding a free from censorship and unimpeded Internet access in general, and access
to the Eurasia web site in particular.
As we have learnt from Sergey Musorin's letter addressed to the Information and Analytical
Center Eurasia, in 2000 he repeatedly turned to Kaztelecom company and demanded that they
stop blocking the Eurasia web site and destroy the "mirror site" they had
created in its place. As their client, he is entitled to a quality service, said Sergey
Musorin.
In reply to his demands, the Almaty NSC Department officials arrested Sergey Nusorin on 3
March 2001. Denis Lemeshko, Almaty secret service officer was in charge of this arrest.
The Almaty secret service in question was headed by the President Nazarbayev's son-in-law.
Criminal case No. 1310026 was initiated against Sergey Musorin.
To pressure Sergey Musorin, the law-enforcement officials used extrajudicial means
including physical abuse. During the trial, Sergey Musorin refused all the evidence he had
given in the course of pretrial investigation. Still he was found guilty.
Maxim Petin, Kaztelecom's staff member, was an expert for the prosecution in the trial. He
also participated in the search executed at Musorin's apartment. A test shows that 23 days
after his computer was seized, certain manipulations were performed with it, says Sergey
Musorin. New programs were installed on his computer while the existing were modified.
Kaztelecom staff member Petin seems to have performed this to make sure that Sergey
Musorin, who defended his rights, was found guilty.
Kazakhstan has now its first political prisoner found guilty on the basis of
Internet-related charges. It's disgusting that the ISPs Kaztelecom and Nursat are the
accomplices to the authorities and repressive agencies in this shameful case.
We urge the Internet community to boycott the Kaztelecom and Nursat companies by breaking
off any contacts with them.
We urge investors and financial institutions not to cooperate with Nursat and Kaztelecom
in any form.
We urge journalists and human rights activists specializing in the free information
exchange on the Net to take note of the unlawful activities of these two companies.
We urge the U.S. Government and Governments of other democratic states to make it possible
for Kazakh citizens to obtain the Internet access free from the Nazarbayev Government
control.
IAC Eurasia, www. eurasia.org.ru
05 Mar 2002
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