ALMATY, March 12, 2009 (RFE/RL) -- An Almaty district court has resumed a case against three Kazakh opposition leaders, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
Azat (Free) party leader Bolat Abilov, unregistered Algha (Forward) Party leader Asylbek Kozhakhmetov, and Communist Party Deputy Chairman Tolen Tokhtasynov are accused of helping two murder suspects obtain political asylum in Ukraine several years ago.
Tokhtasynov has been in Mongolia for several months due to health problems, he told RFE/RL, and is being tried in absentia.
The opposition leaders and human rights activists say the charges against them are politically motivated for their work with the opposition.
The ruling Nur-Otan party holds all of the seats in Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament.