OPINION:
When American middleweight contender Ruben “Hurricane” Carter was wrongfully imprisoned for murder in the 1960s, the outcry in America was profound. Bob Dylan famously wrote a protest song decrying the injustice and performed at a New Jersey prison, while celebrities such as Muhammad Ali lent their support.
Carter’s conviction was eventually overturned and his nearly two-decade ordeal served as the basis for Denzel Washington’s Golden Globe-winning performance of Carter’s life in “The Hurricane.”
No such effort is underway to free Arman Dzhumageldiev, a boxer from Kazakhstan whose unwarranted arrest for supporting protesters and providing humanitarian assistance to his compatriots at street demonstrations against the government last year has gone largely unnoticed.
He has been held in violation of Kazakhstan’s international obligations, including the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, and domestic rules since. He and other political prisoners and dissidents advocating for human rights must not be forsaken.
Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, has gone to great lengths to portray itself as a reliable partner of the United States and Europe even as it has maintained close relations with President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, the Kazakh government has, fortunately, attempted to distance itself from Moscow.
The Kazakh government needs to realize, however, that part of the effort to reach out to the West must include following through with guarantees of basic rights and the rule of law for its people.
The government’s disregard of basic rights and due process is a potential problem for the United States.
Given Kazakhstan’s proximity to Russia and Mr. Putin’s penchant for interfering in the affairs of neighboring countries, the U.S. needs Kazakhstan to be an anchor of stability in a troubled region.
But if the government continues to alienate itself from potential allies in the West — and its own people — there is a risk that Kazakhstan will become an extension of Russian oppression.
The judicial system is a glaring example of the Kazakhstan system’s failures. Despite being an ostensibly democratic state with a constitution that guarantees every citizen basic rights, perceived opponents of the government rarely, if ever, receive a fair trial.
After the demonstrations erupted in early 2022, the government clamped down on protesters, as well as on those — like Arman Dzhumageldiev — who publicly advocated for peaceful and orderly protests. Many of those who remain incarcerated are being held simply for expressing their opinion, which is supposed to be protected in Kazakhstan.
Mr. Dzhumageldiev, whom I represent as a lawyer, is one such person. Authorities initially arrested him. Then they accused him of organizing the protests.
In an unfortunate bid to sway public opinion — and in an effort to undermine the presumption of innocence — before any trial, Kazakhstan’s prosecutor general went on state television to defame Mr. Dzhumageldiev.
A prosecutor should present evidence and allegations in court, where a defendant can exercise his right to defend himself.
My client is not alone. Numerous other prisoners are caught in similar miscarriages of justice. Several have already received long prison terms. Many have been pressured to testify against my client.
Indeed, for simply trying to defend a critic of the government, Kazakh authorities probably consider me a suspect now. Like my client, I hope that Kazakhstan will one day become the vibrant democratic state it so eagerly promotes itself as being, and that everyone in this country receives due process, a fair trial, and legal representation.
• Yevgeniy Yavorskiy is a human rights defense lawyer in Kazakhstan.
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