Kazakhstan: Drop trumped-up charges, release opposition leader

Source: International Partnership for Human Rights

June 2022

The Kazakhstani authorities should stop persecuting opposition leader Zhanbolat Mamai because of his peaceful political engagement, said International Partnership for Human Rights, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee today. The four groups called for the dropping of a spate of criminal charges initiated against Mamai and for his immediate release. They said that the charges against Mamai and the pressure exerted on his party undermine the political reform agenda announced by the president and stressed that there will be no real democratic change until citizens are allowed to carry out legitimate opposition activities without hindrance.