Physical attack against Mr. Ramazan Yesergepov, chairman of the Journalists in Trouble Public Foundation

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

KAZ 002 /0517 / OBS 056
Physical attack
Kazakhstan
May 19, 2017

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of theWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, requests your urgent interventionin the following situation in Kazakhstan.

Briefdescription of the situation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the physical attackagainst Mr. Ramazan Yesergepov,chairman of the Journalists in Trouble Public Foundation, member of the publiccommittee for the defence of the arrested journalist and public figure ZhanbolatMamai and former editor of the Alma-AtaInfo newspaper.

According tothe information received, on May 14, 2017, Mr. Yesergepov was assaulted by twounidentified persons who stabbed him three times for no apparent reason in thevestibule of a train carriage in which he was traveling from Almaty to Astana.Mr. Yesergepov was found bleeding and weakened by a conductor who rang thealarm, which allowed him to be removed from the train at the Shu station, in the Jambyl region, andtaken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery and where he is currentlybeing treated.

When thephysical attack took place, Mr. Ramazan Yesergepov was traveling to Astana inorder to meet with representatives of European diplomatic missions regardingthe case of Mr. Zhanbolat Mamai, editor and publisher of the Sayasi Kalam Tribuna newspaper, who wasarrested on February 10, 2017, on trumped-up charges of money laundering, aswell as about the lack of implementation of a decision of the UN Human RightsCommittee in his own case.

In 2009, Mr.Yesergepov was sentenced to three years in prison for publishing criticalmaterials about alleged illegal activities of the heads of the Zhambyl regionaladministration of the National Security Committee. Following his release fromprison in 2012, Mr. Yesergepov has fought to have his sentence overturned andin 2016, the UN Human Rights Committee concluded that his right to a fair trial had been violatedduring the judicial process in which he had been convicted. Mr. Yesergepov hadbeen advocating for the decision to be enforced, including through a lawsuitwhich he filed on May 12, 2017.

Followingthe physical attack against Mr. Yesergepov, members of a special commission ofthe Ministry of Internal Affairs would have visited him at the hospital. TheObservatory is however concerned by the fact that the investigators seem to betrying to link this assault to a conflict with another passenger at the Almatyrailway station, which has been denied by Mr. Yesergepov and a family memberwho was at the station with him before he boarded the train.

TheObservatory condemns the physical attack against Mr. Ramazan Yesergepov, whichseems to be linked with his legitimate human rights activities, and calls onthe Kazakh authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, transparent and impartial investigation.

Actionsrequested:

Pleasewrite to the authorities of Kazakhstan asking them to:

i. Order an immediate, thorough, transparent investigation into the attackagainst Mr. Ramazan Yesergepov in order to identify all those responsible,bring them before an independent tribunal, and apply them the sanctionsprovided by the law;

ii. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. RamazanYesergepov, as well as all human rights defenders in Kazakhstan;

iii. Conform with the provisions of theUN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly ofthe United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially Articles 1, 5, 6 and 12.2;

iv. More generally, ensure in allcircumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms inaccordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and withinternational and regional human rights instruments ratified by Kazakhstan.

Addresses:

· Mr.Nursultan NAZARBAEV, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Fax: + 7 3172 3261 82, 007 / 3172 / 32 40 89

· Mr. KalmukhanbetKassymov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan. Email: Kense@mvd.kz

· Mr. ZhakypAssanov, Prosecutor General of Kazakhstan. Fax: +7 7172 506 402

· Mr. AskarShakirov, Human Rights Commissioner of Kazakhstan. Fax: +7 7172 74 05 48

· AmbassadorMs. Zhanar Aitzhanova, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstanto the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva. Fax: +41 (0)22 788 66 02. Email: mission@kazakhstan-geneva.ch

· AmbassadorMr. Almaz KHAMZAYEV, Embassy of Kazakhstan in Brussels. Email: brussels@mfa.kz.

· PermanentDelegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the OSCE in Vienna. Fax: +43 1 89080 08 20. Email: kzosce@kazakhstan.at

Pleasealso write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Kazakhstan in yourrespective country.

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Geneva-Paris,May 19, 2017

Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in yourreply.

The Observatory for the Protectionof Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programmeis to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against humanrights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

To contactthe Observatory, call the emergency line:

• E-mail:Appeals@fidh-omct.org

• Teland fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

• Teland fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80