From the former Soviet Union:
Repression in Kazakhstan - The case of Ionur Kurmanov
(documentation - October/December 1997)
[8 October 1997]
Ionur Kurmanov, a 21 year old metal worker and his comrade 18
year old Sergei Kolokolov were arrested on Thursday 18th
September and are being held in the Remand Prison in Uralsk.
The arrests follow the appearance of anti government graffiti in
Uralsk in April. Ionur and Sergei were held for several days at
that time while investigations took place but no real evidence
was found, notwithstanding the questionning of school friends and
workmates by the KNB (former KGB).
While they were held in custody, supporters in Uralsk organised a
petition at Ionur's workplace and students from two colleges
organised a protest march which ended in a clash with the police
and the burning of a police car. Miners from the Karaganda coal
field collected money to pay for a solicitor. A number of
protests by supporters in Kazakhstan and abroad speeded Ionur's
release.
They are being held until their court case whose date has not
been fixed but is likely some time in October. Ionur is being
told he faces charges on five counts ranging from "Insulting
the President", "terrorism" and "Misleading
the young". Each of these charges carries a sentence of up
to several years.Conditions in this prison are not pleasant, they
are cold and are being fed on little more than bread and
water.But even these conditions are better than those he will
face if he is sent to one of Kazakhstan's jails.
These are so overcrowded, prisoners often have to stand in their
cells and several hundred die every year from tuberculosis. In a
recent report, Amnesty International describes how the
authorities deal with troublesome prisoners by intentionally
placing them in cells with TB sufferers.
It seems the authorities are moving now to head off possible
protests in the autumn. Ionur was active in the strikes and road
blockades that swept Uralsk in the spring and has been at the
forefront of a campaign at his factory, the biggest in Uralsk, to
replace the present corrupt union leadership.
However, the authorities are also worried about the influence of
political organisations such as the YRE [Youth against Racism
in Europe] and CWI [Committee for a Workers
International]. Over 50 people in the capital Almata have
been called in by the KNB for questionning over their
relationships to the CWI.
However, past experience has shown that even the dictatorial
regime of President Nazerbayev can be swayed by solidarity
protests.This is particularly so as the country's privatisation
programme has been opened up to domination by western oil and
utility companies.
Therefore we are asking for messages of protest to be sent to:
Upravleniye MVD Zapagnovo Kazakhstana, Uralsk, Kazakhstan
and to:
President Nazarbayev, c/o their local Kazakhstani Embassy
and, where possible, to organise pickets of local Kazakhstani
embassies.
(Not every country has an embassy, for example Sweden uses the
London Embassy).
Also please send messages of support and copies of any protest to
125167, Moscow, a/ya 37 or via e-mail at pabgem@glas.apc.org.
[9 November 1997]
Dear comrades,
I have just met and had a long discussion with VS from Uralsk who
has filled
me in with all the info re Ionur's case showing how they are
attempting to
stitch him up.
Throughout the year, the militia have been threatening Ionur. He
had to hide for three days in March. On 1st of May, the police
picked him out from others on the demo and tried to attack him
but other demonstrators protected him - the militia threatened
him saying they would "get hold of him somehow". As you
know he was eventually arrested towards end of May after
graffitti appeared in the town. 3 were arrested, Ionur, Sergei
Kolokolov
(who is 27 not 20 as I thought) and Nikolai who is 17.
Confessions were forced out of Sergei and Nikolai. Sergei lives
alone with a very ill mother. At one time 15 militia and KNB men
were questionning him and threatening to charge him with
"betraying the homeland" to send him down for 20 years.
Nikolai was put under pressure of his school teachers etc.
Ionur was extremely badly treated. Ionur lost both his parents
when he was 16 in a very tragic way - his mother in some sort of
fit attacked his father, killing him in front of Ionur. The
police played on this and kept threatening Ionur saying he was
alone, none of his friends could or would help. If he confessed
however, he would be released. He refused. The bad treatment only
stopped when telegrams of protest started to arrive.
The three were then released, being told that although no
evidence was found, the charges were still outstanding. Their
passports were confiscated.
The prosecution document and behavior of the militia after their
second arrest make it quite clear that the charges are trumped
up. Of the 36 witnesses, only those defending Ionur turned up on
the 30th making it obvious that the militia had forewarned the
others that the case wouldn't be heard on that date. All through
the case, the militia have been threatening to have the trial in
closed session - confirming that they, not the court control the
process.
In the court papers is a document sent to the local communist
party secretary asking if Sergei and Ionur are members - which if
it was a genuine criminal case and not one of political
persecution would have no bearing. Ionur aparently has a good
advocate who is chair of the city's board of advocates. However,
it is not clear how independent the
advocates are able to be. When Sergei was being questionned and
he decided to confess, his advocate, a certain Uteshova attempted
to advice him not to do so. She was physically ejected from the
question room and removed from the case. This is detailed in the
prosecution case as if it was quite acceptable for the police to
remove an advocate.
VS thinks that the three were arrested again as a direct result
of an order from the capital to step up repression in advance of
the autumn, when further street protests were likely. Some of the
evidence is clearly fabricated, such as that of one witness who
claims that VS was heard to say that the three were "scum,
trash, loathsome" which he says he never said. He thinks
this is an attempt to demoralise the three by undermining their
confidence in those helping them. Further, when supporters
attempt to organise a collection of money to pay for advocates on
the streets, they were cleared off by the police. On the other
hand when VS has questioned, the police threatened him with
criminal charges if he didn't give evidence against the others.
VS is an elected member of the City Aximat (City Council).
No date has yet been set for new trial but even according to
Kazakhstan law it should be soon. Strictly speaking accused can
only be held for a month with an extension granted by court in
certain cases. However the effect of international protests has
so far shocked the local authorities and forced them to be
careful about what they do. So if pressure is kept up, at least
some gains can be made.
The prosecution papers outline the case against the three and the
material to be submitted by the witnesses. The first page
outlines how Ionur and Sergei set up a "criminal
group"- this phrase is repeated frequently in an attempt to
give weight to these charges. What did this criminal group do?
Apparently on the night of 25-26th May, it is alleged that the
three went around Uralsk painting slogans on buildings that
insulted the President and local leaders and that one of them
then phoned a bomb threat to the local Council building.
On the basis of this, Sergei is charged with:
* forming a criminal group and leading it - article 63-2 part 1
of criminal code.
* Involving an underaged person in criminal activities - article
201 part 1 of criminal code.
* publically offending the president and other representatives of
authority - article 172 of criminal code.
*Hooliganism - article 200 part 2 of criminal code.
Ionur is charged with:
* forming a criminal group and participating in it - article 63-2
part 1 of criminal code.
* Involving an underaged person in criminal activities - article
201 part 1 of crminal code.
* publically offending the president and other representatives of
authority - article 172 of criminal code.
*Hooliganism - article 200 part 2 of criminal code.
Nikolai is charged with:
* participating in a criminal group - article 63-2 part 1 of
criminal code.
* publically offending the president and other representatives of
authority - article 172 of criminal code.
*Hooliganism - article 200 part 2 of criminal code.
Many of the witnesses cited merely testify to the fact that when
they went to work on the following morning they saw different
items of graffitti and leaflets stuck on walls. Only in two
cases, witnesses saw the "graffitiists" - but were only
able to identify them as three people of european nationality -
no-one identified any of the three. The person answering the bomb
hoax testifies to the voice belonging to a male but was unable to
make any further identification.
Other witnesses testify to the good character of all three.
The whole case therefore hinges on the confessions forced out of
Sergei and Nikolai. Sergei said in his confession that they
disposed of the paint jars in a waste bin, which he then pointed
out to police - but they found no jar, explaining the bins had
since been emptied. (No search was made of the tip apparently).
Sergei's mother however testified that both Sergei and Ionur had
been at her flat throughout that night.
Two items of evidence were found - red paint splashes on a pair
of shoes in Sergei's flat - which match those of the paint used
for the graffitti. And Ionur's fingerprint was found on one of
the leaflets. However, both of these items are thought to have
been planted by VS.
One of the most convincing arguments against Ionur's guilt
however is the nature of the slogans painted on the wall. "
Revolution is great" "Nazarbayev and Jakupova should be
shot", "Wait for terror", "Kill the mayor and
burn foreign cars" "Death to the bourgeois". These
slogans were accompanied by the anarchist letter "A".
Ionur is not an anarchist and is proud to call himself a marxist
- he instinctively dislikes the provocative nature of some of the
anarchist material produced in the countries of the former USSR
and when we met him over the summer was cursing some anarchists
for the irresponsible way in which they throw out slogans calling
for violence etc. To anyone who knows Ionur it is inconceivable
that he wrote such graffitti.
It is now clear that a case is being fabricated against Ionur to
silence him - even if he was guilty of the graffitti, that would
justify no more than a charge of petty hooliganism. Instead a
whole criminal plot is being accredited to him, threatening him
with several years in jail. Anyone who claims to fight for
justice and against political repression thereofre should try and
maintain the pressure on the Nazarbayev regime, so that they
can not send this young fighter for worker's rights to jail on
trumped up charges.
[18 December 1997]
Dear comrades,
A small sign of progress was made today in the court case against
Ionur. The court actually sat although it was then adjourned
until 22nd December due to the unavailability of one of the
advocates.
The authorities are running into difficulty. By law, people being
investigated can only be held for two months, extended to 3 by
the decision of the regional procuror. The 3 months has now run
out and it can only be extended to 6 months by decision of the
national procuror, which he hasn't yet done.
The court was full with people standing in the corridors, when
Ionur appeared he was met with applause for 5 minutes. He looked
very ill, thin and weak having been on hunger strike for over two
weeks but we understand he has now stopped the hunger strike.
Local supporters were able to speak to him and he says he knows
of all the support that has been sent.
Two civil advocates came to the court to back Ionur from Almata -
one, Vinkov, is a leader of the republican "Worker's
movement", the other a national journalist. The Moscow based
human rights organisation "Memorial" has now put its
weight behind the campaign and may well send its advocate down to
Uralsk next week.
Ionur's advocate argued for Ionur to be released on bail as he is
obviously no threat to society - the judge refused.
We are going ahead with our demonstration outside the Kazakhstani
embassy on Saturday - fortunately the well publicised
temperatures of the past week have relaxed a bit.
With socialist greetings, Rob. Moscow
[22 December 1997]
Dear comrades,
The court case against Ionur started in earnest today with a
number of witnesses called. 7 public defenders have been register
to speak in support of Ionur and it is clear the court know the
world is watching and are worried. They have been shaken by the
international campaign, thanks to all comrades who have taken
part so far. The case is likely to last up to three days but the
authorities have to finish before Jan 1st as a new legal code
comes into act on that day, meaning they would have to start all
over again.
Despite earlier reports, Ionur has not stopped his hunger strike
- he has therefore continued for three weeks. He looked very ill
in court and was shaking all the time.
In Almata, three other opposition activists have been jailed for
15 days , one was arrested as he got off his plane from Moscow.
They are on hunger strike.
Comrades in London held a picket last week as did comrades in New
York outside the Kazakhstani delegation to the UN. In Moscow on
Saturday, 35 attended a one hour picket in heavy snow.
With socialist greetings, Rob. Moscow
For further information about the Kazakhstan trial
contact Rob Jones: pabgem@glasnet.ru
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