2 July 2002
ASTANA DISTRICT COURT JAILS OPPOSITIONIST FOR FIVE DAYS
Nurlan Bakirlanov of the Committee for the Liberation of Mukhtar Abliyazov and Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov told RFE/RL that Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan Qayrat Erdebayev was sentenced to five days in jail by the Sary-Arqa District Court in Astana. Erdebayev was one of the supporters of Abliyazov who gathered in front of the Supreme Court building in Astana to demand his immediate release. Bakirlanov said the prosecutor demanded either 15 days of jail or a 41,000 Tenges fine for Erdebayev, but he was finally sentenced to five days in prison.
ABLIYAZOV'S TRIAL CONTINUES
Former Kazakh Energy and Trade Minister Mukhtar Abliyazov officially asked the Supreme Court on 2 July to allow a U.S. lawyer Charles Both to defend him, but Prosecutor Rott said that it would be against Kazakh laws and regulations to have a foreign lawyer present at the trial of a Kazakh citizen. Abliyazov's social defender Tolen Toqtasynov, who is a deputy of the Mazhilis (the lower chamber of Kazakhstan's parliament) member of Kazakh Parliament's Lower Chamber (Mazhilis) said at the trial that since Kazakhstan has joined Vienna convention, it is possible to have an international lawyer at such a trial. Judge Shaukharov asked Toqtasynov about the details of the Vienna convention, and Toqtasynov said that he would bring the text later.
Several witnesses testified on 2 July concerning Abliyazov's alleged illegal use of a mobile phone belonging to KEGOC company while he was minister.
GHALYMZHAN ZHAQIYANOV'S TRIAL STARTS IN A FORTNIGHT
The trial of Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov, one of the leaders of the opposition movement Democratic Choice for Kazakhstan, will open in Pavlodar on July 15. Zhaqiyanov's press secretary Nurlan Zholdasov told RFE/RL on 2 July that last night Zhaqiyanov was transferred from the Pavlodar Central Clinic to PavlodarSol Company's barracks, where he was held until recently before being hospitalized for heart problems. A group of Zhaqiyanov's supporters met with him in Pavlodar on 1 July and assured him of their support. Zauresh Battalova, who is a member of the Senate (the upper parliament chamber), predicted that Zhaqiyanov's trial will be a "ridiculous farce."
Meanwhile Zholdasov says that the Pavlodar City Prosecutor's office has filed a lawsuit against him and Zhaqiyanov's spouse Qarylghash, who is reportedly accused of attacking investigators while they presumably were trying to interrogate her husband in Pavlodar Clinic. Zholdasov is charged with organizing illegal mass gatherings.
OVER A DOZEN HOSPITALIZED WITH SALMONELLA IN ZHAMBYL OBLAST
Zhambyl Oblast Sanitary Control Department officials told RFE/RL that 13 inhabitants of Qyzyl Tan village in Zhambyl Oblast were hospitalized late on 1 July with salmonella poisoning. They contracted the disease through consuming infected beef. Kazakhstan Today New Agency reports that the number of infected persons has risen to 20.