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Kazakhstan|politics|December 2, 2016 / 01:27 PM
EU calls for release of two Atyrau land reform protesters

AKIPRESS.COM - The European Union calls for the release of Kazakh human rights Maks Bokayev and Talgat Ayan.

EU also called for "Kazakhstan to cease the criminalisation of dissenting opinions and to ensure that the freedoms of speech and of assembly are protected."

Human rights defenders Maks Bokayev and Talgat Ayan were this week sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Atyrau City Court in Kazakhstan for organising and participating in peaceful protests in April 2016.

"The penalisation of such acts contravenes Kazakhstan's commitments under international law on the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly," EU External Action said in a statement.

Bokayev and Ayan were detained on April 24 and went on trial on October 12. 

The large-scale rallies took place in the cities of Atyrau, Astana, Almaty, Uralsk and Kyzylorda from April until May 2016 to protest against changes to the Land Code that would extend land lease terms for foreigners from 10 to 25 years. Protesters were concerned that long-term leases could result in the effective loss of Kazakh land to foreign investors.

After the mass protest, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev introduced a moratorium on introduction of amendments to the Land Code.

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