In ENGLISH | РУС/УКР
Sign in | Register
Mobile version | Subscription | RSS Archive
KyivPost

Kazakh court jails opposition politician

Print version
Oct. 8, 2012, 4:09 p.m. |

A court in Kazakhstan has sentenced a vocal opposition leader to 7 ½ years in prison.
©

SEE ALSO

MOSCOW — A court in Kazakhstan has sentenced a vocal opposition leader to 7 ½ years in prison for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government, ending a trial that has undermined the Central Asian nation's claims to being an emerging democracy.

Local activists present at the court hearing Monday in the city of Atyrau say the judge ruled that unregistered Alga party leader Vladimir Kozlov incited unrest among oil workers in a remote western province with a view to toppling the government.

The charges relate to violence in mid-December in the town of Zhanaozen between striking workers and police. At least 14 people died when police opened fire on rioters.

Property belonging to Alga is also to be confiscated, effectively leading to the abolition of the authoritarian government's most robust critic.

READ MORE IN SECTION
The Kyiv Post is hosting comments to foster lively debate. Criticism is fine, but stick to the issues. Comments that include profanity or personal attacks will be removed from the site. If you think that a posted comment violates these standards, please flag it and alert us. We will take steps to block violators.
Advertising link

KyivPost

© 1995–2012 Public Media

Web links to Kyiv Post material are allowed provided that they contain a URL hyperlink to the www.kyivpost.com material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. Otherwise, all materials contained on this site are protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced without the prior written permission of Public Media at news@kyivpost.com
All information of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency placed on this web site is designed for internal use only. Its reproduction or distribution in any form is prohibited without a written permission of Interfax-Ukraine.