Kazakhstan: Socialist activists, Georgie Epshtien and Arman Ozhaubayev, arrested

Protest against despotic regime’s crack-down!

Two socialist activists, Georgie Epshtien and Arman Ozhaubayev, were arrested this morning in Alma-Aty by police, as they collected copies of a socialist newspaper from printers.

Currently they face ‘administrative arrest’ for two weeks or a fine. Ominously the authorities are threatening to charge them with ‘incitement to social discord’, which could carry much more serious sentence if they are found ‘guilty’.

President Nazarbayev’s despotic regime appears to making renewed efforts to crack down against all opposition. Just last week, Vadim Kuramshin, a well-known campaigner for prisoners’ rights and member of the Socialist Movement Kazakhstan, was jailed for 12 years.

Please protest urgently over the arrest of Georgie Epshtien and Arman Ozhaubayev by contacting your nearest Kazakh embassy and by phoning the Head of Department, Kaimunur Mebiev, in the City Mayor’s Office: +7 8282 722303.

Protest can also be sent to:

• Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan on email: [email protected]
• Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan on email: [email protected], [email protected]
• Justice Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan on email: [email protected]
• Prosecutor’s Office of Almaty city on email: [email protected]
• Department of Internal Affairs of Almaty city on email: [email protected], [email protected]
• Justice Department of Almaty city on email: [email protected]

Please send a copy of your protests to [email protected] and [email protected]