02/28/2020

Massive pressure on civil society

No membership in the UN Human Rights Council without human rights (Press Release)

"If Kazakhstan is aiming to become a credible candidate for the UN Human Rights Council, it must finally take the protection of civil society and the promotion of human rights seriously." Picture: UN Geneva via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

---- Göttingen, February 28, 2020 ---- Following the death of a government critic in police custody in Kazakhstan, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls for an independent investigation into the mysterious death. According to the human rights organization, video footage released three days after the death of the human rights activist indicates that mistreatment was the cause of death. "Over the last few months, the situation of the civil society in Kazakhstan has deteriorated dramatically. There is no more hope for a democratic opening of the country. The European Union has to put more pressure on the government of Kazakhstan to ensure that the rights of the civil society are respected," emphasized Ulrich Delius, the STP's director, in Göttingen on Friday. Human rights activist Dulat Agadil died on February 25, 2020, after only a few hours in police custody. The authorities are denying any use of violence, and several protesters who demanded investigations into the incident have been arrested.


The 43-year-old father of six had frequently campaigned against corruption and abuse of power in Kazakhstan and for the protection of former inmates of re-education camps in China. He had been arrested for alleged parole violations. In 2019 alone, he had been imprisoned for at least 60 days because of his protests. His sudden death led to protests throughout the country, which were violently suppressed. Although his brother and fellow prisoners ruled out a violent death under pressure from the authorities, a video recorded shortly before his burial shows numerous traces of violence on his body.


Hundreds of members of the democracy movement have been arbitrarily arrested in Kazakhstan in recent weeks. The authorities also announced further restrictions on the right of assembly. In the course of a meeting in Geneva this week, Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi also announced that his country will apply for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council for the period of 2022 to 2024. "If Kazakhstan is aiming to become a credible candidate for the UN Human Rights Council, it must finally take the protection of civil society and the promotion of human rights seriously," Delius stated.

 

 

Header image: UN Geneva via Flickr