Kazakhstan: Demand Georgii Epshtein's release!

CWI Reporters, Kazakhstan

There is new evidence that the Kazakh authorities' charges against Russian Committee for a Workers' International member Georgii Epshtein have been completely fabricated.

Georgii was sentenced to ten days detention for "breaching the rules for staying in Kazakhstan". Migration police claimed that Pashaev Magamed had given evidence that Georgii was living in his flat.

Pashaev is actually the landlord of an office currently rented by the Leave People's Homes Campaign.

Supporters of Socialist Movement Kazakhstan (SMK) contacted Pashaev Magamed by telephone. He declared that he had not given any evidence, nor had he made a statement. He said that he did not even know who Georgii was and had never seen him.

The trial itself was full of breaches of procedure. Georgii, "the accused", was not given the right to use a defence lawyer. Witnesses who spoke in his support were ignored.

The judge ignored the absence of a written protocol, which should have been written at the time of arrest, and nor was Pashaev called to give evidence in person.

Although by law, a Russian citizen has to register with the police on their arrival, which Georgii did, there is no restriction on where in the city they can be at any one time. It seems that Georgii has been imprisoned for being a CWI member.

Georgii is being denied his right to appeal the sentence as, to do so, he has to be given a written copy of the court's decision and to date the copy is being kept under lock and key by the court's staff.

Please send messages of protest to the London Kazakhstan embassy on 020 7590 3490 and/or london@kazembassy.org.uk, the prosecutor general in Kazakhstan on gp-rk@prokuror.kz and the ministry of foreign affairs on midrk@mfa.kz.