AKIPRESS.COM - A prominent Kazakh journalist and activist was violently attacked in the early morning hours of May 14, Human Rights Watch said.

"The Kazakh authorities should ensure that the attack is investigated promptly, thoroughly, and impartially and that the attackers are identified and brought to justice," the rights organization said in a statement.

Ramazan Yesergepov, chairman of the board of Journalists in Danger, a Kazakh media freedom group that provides legal advice and representation and training for journalists, was stabbed in the abdomen by two unidentified men during a train journey from Almaty to Astana, the HRW said.

He was scheduled to meet in Almaty with foreign diplomats about activists and journalists imprisoned in Kazakhstan and about the government’s failure to comply with United Nations Human Rights Committee decisions, including in his own case.

Yesergepov was hospitalized following the attack and underwent surgery.