Voice of Democracy
Published by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation · Washington, D.C. Apr. 10, 2003

MANY WRONGS MEAN FEW RIGHTS -- The Nazarbayev regime's "poor human rights record worsened" over the past year, the State Department charged in its newly published annual report on global human rights. Some of the toughest criticism was leveled at the Kazakh government's policy of "media harassment" and particularly the treatment of independent journalist and human rights activist Sergei Duvanov, who has been jailed on what are widely considered politically motivated sexual assault charges.

His real crime was writing about Kazakhgate, the investigation of high level corruption in the Nazarbayev government. At the same time the State Department report was being released, another arm of the U.S. government, the Justice Department, indicted a top Nazarbayev advisor on charges that he funneled some $25 million in bribes to top Kazakh officials. Published reports indicated most of the money went to private, secret Swiss bank accounts belonging to Nazarbayev; the president is also under investigation by U.S. and Swiss authorities in connection with the scheme.

Here's what the U.S. State Department report says about Human Rights Practices during 2002 in Kazakhstan -- everything is a direct quote:

• The Constitution of Kazakhstan concentrates power in the presidency. President Nursultan Nazarbayev was the dominant political figure. The Constitution permits the President to control the legislature and judiciary, as well as regional and local governments; changes or amendments to the Constitution required the President's consent.

• In Kazakhstan the government's poor human rights record worsened, including selective prosecution of opposition leaders and a pattern of media harassment suggesting an attempt to silence media critics.

• [The police are] poorly paid and widely believed to be corrupt. Members of the security forces committed human rights abuses.

• The Government's poor human rights record worsened, and it continued to commit abuses.

• The Government severely limited citizens' right to change their government and democratic institutions remained weak.

• Members of the security forces mistreated detainees on some occasions. Police tortured, beat, and otherwise mistreated detainees. Government officials acknowledged that abuses by police constituted a serious problem. Prison conditions remained harsh…. The Government continued to use arbitrary arrest and detention, and prolonged detention was a problem.

• Corruption in the judiciary remained deeply rooted. Amendments to several laws governing the authority of prosecutors further eroded judicial independence by, among other provisions, allowing prosecutors to suspend court verdicts.

• The Government infringed on citizens' privacy rights, and new legislation granted prosecutors broad authorities to monitor individuals.

• There were instances when the Government harassed independent media, and as a consequence, many journalists practiced self-censorship. Several opposition news outlets were attacked and/or had operations suspended during the year.

• The Government restricted freedom of assembly and association.

• The Government limited democratic expression and continued to impose restrictions on the registration of political parties.

• Although the Constitutional Council deemed unconstitutional restrictive amendments to the Religion Law in April, at times local authorities harassed nontraditional religious groups or their members. Some human rights observers reported that the Government monitored their activities.

• Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a serious problem. There was discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities. The Government discriminated in favor of ethnic Kazakhs.

• Child labor persisted in agricultural areas.

• Trafficking in women and children, primarily teenage girls, was a problem, although the Government continued to take steps to address the problem.

• [T]here were reports that police used excessive force that led to some deaths of persons in and out of custody….There were deaths of some persons while detained or in custody. Many of these were from disease while in prison.

• Government officials acknowledged the seriousness of the problem of police abuse…. 100 criminal charges were placed against police officers for the unlawful use of physical force against citizens during the first 8 months of the year.

• Army personnel continued to subject conscripts to brutal hazing, including beatings and verbal abuse.

• Prison conditions remained harsh and sometimes life threatening, although there were some signs of improvements during the year. Some instances of mistreatment occurred in pretrial detention facilities and in prisons.

• [A]rbitrary detention remained a problem… violation of detainees' rights and illegal detentions were common.

• The Government arrested and detained government opponents and critics, sometimes for minor infractions of the law such as unsanctioned assembly.

• A bail system exists, but was rarely used. Individuals generally remained in pretrial detention until their trial.

• Conditions and treatment in pretrial facilities remained harsh….

• The court system's independence was compromised by legislative, administrative, and constitutional arrangements that in practice subjugate the judiciary to the executive branch of government.

• Corruption was evident at every stage and level of the judicial process. Lawyers and human rights monitors alleged that judges, prosecutors, and other officials solicited bribes in exchange for favorable rulings in nearly all criminal cases.

• The Government selectively prosecuted political opponents.

• [T]he Government used a variety of means, including criminal and administrative charges, and, observers reported, the use of physical attacks and vandalism to silence its critics. As a consequence, many journalists practiced self-censorship.

• During the year, there were several serious incidents involving journalists that were critical of government leaders or their relatives.

• On June 21, 25-year-old Leila Bayseitova, daughter of opposition journalist Lira Bayseitova, died in an Almaty hospital, after being taken there from police custody.

• In July the KNB opened an investigation against independent journalist Sergey Duvanov for an article critical of President Nazarbayev that he published on an opposition website. On August 29, three unknown persons attacked Duvanov in the darkened hallway outside his apartment. The assailants carved a cross and several other marks on Duvanov's chest and allegedly told Duvanov that he was aware of why they were attacking him….On October 29, Duvanov was arrested and charged several days later with the rape of an underage girl. … International organizations and human rights groups were critical of the charge, noting a pattern of harassment of Duvanov during the year….

• The Government did not permit individuals to criticize the country's leadership and, early in the year, enforced laws limiting this aspect of freedom of speech. The Constitution provides for the protection of the dignity of the President, and the law prohibits insulting the President and other officials.

• Media outlets generally practiced self-censorship regarding information on the President and his family to avoid possible legal problems. Most media did not present the story, which had been widely reported internationally in 2000 and developed during the year, about foreign investigations into possible illicit payments from abroad to senior government officials, including President Nazarbayev. Local media outlets, when they did report on these charges, informally dubbed them Kazakhgate.

• The Government ran one of the two Russian-language newspapers and the only Kazakh-language newspaper that appeared most frequently (5 times a week). In addition, a number of privately owned media were believed to be controlled by members of the President's family.

• The Government controlled nearly all broadcast transmission facilities.

• The Government continued to be in a strong position to influence most printing and distribution facilities and to subsidize periodicals, including many that supposedly were independent. In addition, many publishing houses were government owned.

• Owners, editors, distributors, and journalists were held responsible for the content of information conveyed, regardless of its source, promoting self-censorship at each level. At times fines for libel were exorbitant and bankrupted small media outlets. Publishing houses, which also were responsible legally for the information that they publish, were reluctant to publish anything that might be perceived as undesirable by influential officials.

• President Nazarbayev was elected to a 7-year term in a 1999 election that was held nearly 2 years earlier than scheduled and fell far short of international standards. … Less than a week after the presidential election was called, the Government disqualified a number of potential contenders on the basis of a provision of the presidential decree on elections that prohibited persons convicted of administrative offenses from running for public office within a year of their conviction. Five opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Kazhegeldin, were summoned and tried for participating in a nonregistered organization.

• Some journalists alleged that the KNB or tax police threaten publishing houses if they print opposition media; concern over criminal or civil proceedings influenced publishing houses.

• During the year, certain religious groups repeatedly were denied permits for conventions or large public gatherings. Organizers of unsanctioned gatherings, including religious gatherings, frequently were fined. …There were at least two instances when the Government denied permits for political rallies.

• The new Political Parties Law…prohibits political parties established on an ethnic, gender, or religious basis; parties established on a religious basis are specifically prohibited by the Constitution.

•On December 28, by-elections were held for three vacant seats in the Mazhilis…. Independent election monitors recorded violations of the electoral law, including intimidation of election monitors, relocation of polling stations with little or no notice to voters, and manipulation of voter lists.

•Parliament exercised little oversight over the executive branch…. Nearly all laws passed by Parliament originate in the executive branch. The executive branch controls the budget for Parliament's operations… also blocked legislation on establishing Parliamentary staff….

• The Government restricted the functioning of the political opposition. …Several expected participants in foreign-sponsored political party training sessions... were prevented from attending. Some had their travel delayed, while others were charged with crimes and forbidden to travel right before the events.

• In late September, a series of presidential decrees created the position of Human Rights Ombudsman, appointed the former head of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights to the newly created position, and established the regulations and authority of the position. However, under the decrees, the new Ombudsman was not authorized to investigate any complaint dealing with the President, the Parliament, the Government, the Constitutional Council, the Prosecutor General, the Central Election Commission, or the courts.

• [T]rafficking in persons remained a problem during the year. There was no evidence of a pattern of official complicity in trafficking, although corruption of law enforcement officials was widespread….Traffickers mainly targeted young women in their teens and 20s.

For the full stories, see the web citations above or contact us at News@Kazakhstan21.org or see VOD Archives. The Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation promotes democracy and human rights in Kazakhstan through public affairs and educational programs in the United States and Europe. This material is distributed by Kazakhstan 21st Century Foundation.