Kazakhstan CWI comrade Ainur Kurmanov arrested
Attacked by police and jailed for 15 days – Immediate protest action needed!
We have just received the following appeal for protest action following the arrest and physical mistreatment of Ainur Kurmanov, a leading CWI comrade in Kazakhstan. Ainur was arrested at a protest organized by people whose savings and mortgages were cancelled as a result of the economic crisis in Kazakhstan. The police apparently singled out Ainur, and viciously attacked him. Ainur has now been jailed for 15 days.
Ainur is well-known in Kazakhstan as a campaigner and fighter for working people and the poor and has been targeted and arrested many times before.
URGENT SUPPORT NEEDED!
AINUR KURMANOV ARRESTED
On 17 December in the Special Regional Court of Almata Judge Turgumbaev once again sentenced Ainur Kurmanov (Socialist Resistance – CWI Kazakhstan) to 15 days of ‘administrative arrest’. This means he will be jailed until after the New Year.
During a meeting on Alma-Ata city’s New Square, organized by people whose savings and mortgages had been cancelled as a result of the deepening economic crisis in Kazakhstan, Ainur was viciously attacked by a special squad of police organized to break up any peaceful protests as soon as they appear. They smashed his glasses, kicked his legs, and attempted to arrest him, then and there, but had to back off as the other protesters came to Ainur’s rescue.
Waiting until after Ainur had calmed protesters down and protesters went home, the police shamefully arrested Ainur and took him to the Bostandyckoye Police Station where, without explanation, he was held from 11.00am until evening. It took the police this time to hurriedly arrange for one of the off duty judges to organize a court and rushed through a ‘hearing’. No evidence was offered by the police, false witnesses were presented, and Ainur’s lawyer, Denis Alimbekov, was prevented from attending.
Afraid of an open and honest trial, the city authorities in a cowardly fashion, and under cover, once again jailed this fighter for working people, ignoring even this country’s unjust laws.
Ainur will be in prison until the New Year and needs moral support and information.
Please send urgent protests demanding Ainur’s immediate release to: The Procuror in Almata at [email protected] and to your local Kazakhstan Embassy
Please send messages of support to [email protected]
Comradely
Yuri Milchevskii
Sotsialisticheskoye soprotivleniye Kazakhstan.
Suggestion for protest letter:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you in protest at the assault, arrest and detention of Ainur Kurmanov who was sentenced to 15 days in prison on the 17th of December in Almata and to call for his immediate release. Ainur is a well-known campaigner on behalf of workers and the poor in Kazakhstan, and his arrest and imprisonment for no reason other than his participation in a public meeting of ordinary people affected by the economic crisis represents a disgrace to the Kazakh state and justice system. The unprovoked assault on Ainur, an innocent man, represents an attack on the right to public assembly and does not resemble the actions of a fair and democratic state.
Kazakh workers and poor have been hit hard by the impact of the developing economic crisis, with many losing their homes and savings as a result. These people require the support and assistance of the state, not assault, repression and imprisonment. In the course of his arrest, Ainur Kurmanov was viciously assaulted by police. He was then put before a court without being allowed to have his lawyer present. This unlawful procedure cannot be allowed to stand. I call for the immediate release of Ainur Kurmanov and an inquiry into the unlawful procedure through which he was jailed.
I and my organisation will take all measures to ensure the widest possible publicity of this injustice
