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Kazakh Human Rights Group Condemns Activist's Imprisonment


Vadim Kuramshin
Vadim Kuramshin
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kazakhstan's Bureau for Human Rights has condemned the sentence of a prominent activist and called his case politically motivated.

In a statement issued on December 11, the bureau called on the Kazakh authorities to reopen the case against Vadim Kuramshin.

He was found guilty of extorting a bribe and sentenced to 12 years in prison on December 8.

Kuramshin, a defender of the rights of inmates in Kazakhstan's prisons, was first arrested in January and charged with fraud, extortion, and abuse of power.

In August, he was released after a court found him guilty of abusing his "responsibilities" as a human rights defender.

He was sentenced to one year of limited movement.

He was rearrested in October after prosecutors withdrew his initial sentence and sent his case for retrial.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
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