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KAZAKH SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO REVIEW OPPOSITION POLITICIAN'S CASE

Kazakhstan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the lawyer of former Pavlodar Oblast Governor Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov requesting it to review an oblast court's conviction of her client on charges of abuse of office, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 2 July, quoting defense lawyer Yelena Rebenchuk. The lower court sentenced Zhaqiyanov to seven years' imprisonment in 2002 for alleged abuse of office during his term as governor. However, the Kazakh opposition believes the charges were politically motivated, because Zhaqiyanov is a co-founder of the opposition coalition Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK). Unlike fellow DVK co-founder Mukhtar Ablyazov, who asked President Nursultan Nazarbaev for pardon after spending about one year in jail on similar charges, Zhaqiyanov has refused to ask for pardon (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 May 2003) and has asked his lawyers to take his case to an international court, where he intends to sue the Kazakh government for allowing an illegitimate case to be brought against him, according to Rebenchuk. The lawyer added that Zhaqiyanov has contracted tuberculosis in prison. BB

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