Kazakhstan: Mass prison hunger strike against brutal regime

OSCE Chair presides over torture of prisoners - Protests needed urgently!

Sotsialisticheskoye soprotivleniye Kazakhstan (CWI) Reporters, Kazakhstan

From www.socialistworld.net, website of the committee for a workers' international, CWI, 03/06/2010

In the "strict regime" prison colony, AK159/6, in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, a collective hunger strike was declared by the prisoners in protest at alleged brutal beatings, the prison's military regime and claims of 'frame ups' of prisoners by the authorities.

Starting with a few prisoners at the end of May, the hunger strike has now been joined by the mass of prisoners.

Kazakhstan currently holds the Chair of the The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

A video, filmed on 28 May, shows the typical brutal treatment of one prisoner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRLnYJKNJlc&feature=player_embedded

The text of the film is as follows:

"OSCE Chair tortures prisoners

"In the strict regime colony AK 159/6 (the 40th zone) of the Karaganda region.

"This is a picture of the prison AK 159/6, built on the site of one of Stalin's GULAG camps near the village of Dolinka, in the Karaganda region (filmed on 28 May 2010).

"The prisoners have declared a hunger strike against arbitrary repression. The reason for this action was prisoners' protest at a brutal beating.

"Please send messages of protest against the policies of the camp authorities. Show your solidarity with the prisoners."

Sotsialisticheskoye soprotivleniye Kazakhstan (CWI) calls for solidarity with Prisoners protesting at torture in Kazakhstan.

Please send urgent protests to:

Head of the Colony Uchr AK-159/6 Sarin Kairat Kabdycamatovich, 101604 Republic of Kazakhstan, Karaganda oblast, p. Dolinka, ul Sadovaya 92

General Prosecutor or the Republic of Kazakhstan Kairat Mami: akparat@prokuror.kz and Fax: +7 7172 502534

The Secretariat of the OSCE, Wallnerstrasse 6, 1010 Vienna, Austria, Tel: +43 1 514366000, Fax: +43 1 514366996 or by email through the following link: http://www.osce.org/contacts/email.php?id=67

Also send protestst to Kazakhstan embassies and Kazakhstan's President.

To ensure that protests are received, please copies to kuramshin74@mail.ru and Robert.cwi@gmail.com and hannahsell@socialistparty.org.uk

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