IV Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410902700408 |
| Date | 01 December 2009 |
| Published date | 01 December 2009 |
| Author | Arie Bloed |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
596 Intersentia
IV ORGanIZaTIOn fOR seCuRITy anD
COOPeRaTIOn In euROPe (OsCe)
A B*
1. IMPRISONMENT OF KAZAKHSTAN’S MAIN HUMAN
RIGHTS DEFENDER CAUSES STORM OF PROTEST
e sentence to four years impris onment for Evgeny Zhovtis bec ause of a fatal car
accident in the Almaty region has caused a storm of criticism both within Kazak hstan
and in the international commun ity. Zhovtis is the bes t-known human rights ac tivist
in the country and has pa rticipated in nu merous OSCE meetings on the human
dimension. He was sentenced on 3 September a er a two days trial that was widely
criticised for alleged procedural violations. e court convicted him for dangerous
driving, causing a death in the tra c accident that took place on 26 July. e
conviction rested on the argument of the prosecution that Zhovtis could have avoided
the accident, although t he rst investigation on the spot clearly proved the opposite.
Observers widely consider t his case to be organise d ‘from t he top’, as t he tragic
accident oered a great opportunity to silence a long-standing cr itic of the regime.
Zhovtis apparently is of the same opinion, as al ready before his trial he declared to
journalists: ‘is is a demonstration of power and lawlessness, in wh ich all decisions
are ta ken in [the capital] Astana, and the forensic teams work for the prosecution.’
is suspicion seems not to be unreasonable. All motions brought by the defense team
were routinely denied by t he court. At the end of the s ession the judge’s ‘verdict took
as long as he had allegedly spent writing it (15 minutes)’, as an observer noted, fueling
suspicion that the whole verdict had been well prepare d in advance.
is case comes at a very sensitive time for Kazakhs tan which is scheduled to
take over the leadership of the OSCE in 2010, thereby becoming the political leader
of this Euro-Atlantic security and human rights’ orga nisation. e decision to g rant
the cha irmanship to Kazakhsta n had al ready been a very complicated process, due
to serious concerns over its many problems relating to human rights and rule of law,
and was accompanied by several conditions relating to its human rights record. Many
observers consider the Zhovtis C ase as a n omen, signa ling that even the upcoming
* Director of the Asia-Paci c Law Enforcement Instit ute, Bangkok, ai land.
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