Watchdog

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Jailed Kazakh dissident Aron Atabek will be transferred to a minimum-security penal colony.

Atabek's lawyer, Vasily Sadykov, told RFE/RL on December 5 that his client will be transferred soon from the Qarazhal maximum-security labor camp in central Kazakhstan to a minimum-security prison near Almaty, closer to his family.

Atabek had been transferred at least twice to even tougher prisons in Kazakhstan's north recently for his refusal to follow penitentiary regulations.

Amnesty International expressed concern about Atabek's long-term treatment in solitary confinement earlier this year.

Atabek, 60, who is a poet, was sentenced to 18 years in jail in 2007 for his role in organizing mass protests that resulted in the death of a police officer.

Atabek has maintained his innocence and rejected a government pardon in exchange for admitting his guilt.

ASTANA -- A jailed Kazakh human rights defender, Vadim Kuramshin, will be formally awarded the prestigious 18th annual Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize in Paris.

Kuramshin's mother, Olga Koltunova, is expected to receive the prize at a ceremony in the French capital on December 5.

A jury of 29 European lawyers awarded the prize to Kuramshin in June. The first Ludovic-Trarieux human rights prize was awarded to Nelson Mandela in 1985.

Kuramshin's activities have helped to raise awareness of violations of inmates' rights in Kazakh penitentiaries, including the notorious EC 164/4 prison, where he is currently incarcerated.

Last month, Kazakhstan's Supreme Court rejected Kuramshin's appeal to overturn his prison sentence.

Kuramshin had been appealing a 12-year prison sentence that he began serving in December 2012 after being found guilty of extortion, a charge widely perceived to be politically motivated.

With reporting by "The Guardian"