On May 13, Matteo Mecacci, a senior member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly's (OSCEPA) committee on human rights and World Movement participant, met with Kazakh human rights advocate and World Movement Steering Committee member Yevgeny Zhovtis, who is currently serving a four-year sentence in a prison colony in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. Mr. Zhovtis was sentenced to four years in prison following a fatal traffic accident last year. Domestic legal experts and international observers at the trial reported numerous procedural violations, and questioned whether he was given adequate ability to mount a defence. Opposition parties in Kazakhstan have also raised concerns about the sentencing. It is believed that authorities used this unfortunate accident to silence Zhovtis, who has openly criticized the current government of Kazakhstan for human rights abuses.

According to Mr. Mecacci, "Mr. Zhovtis was in good condition but disappointed in the Supreme Court's refusal to recognize the lack of fairness in the legal proceedings. Unfortunately, I have to conclude that institutions can fail to deliver a fair and proportionate judgment in a situation that to independent observers does not entail criminal responsibility."

During Mr. Mecacci's visit to see Mr. Zhovtis, OSCEPA Secretary General Spencer Oliver raised the Zhovtis case in a speech at the Kazakh National University in Almaty. Mr. Oliver asserted that Mr. Zhovtis has been unfairly treated and unjustly sentenced. Mr. Oliver also called for the issue to be quickly resolved.

For more information from OSCEPA, go to:www.oscepa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=855:osce-pa-representative-meets-imprisoned-kazakh-human-rights-activist-yevgeny-zhovtis&catid=48:Press%20Releases&Itemid=73

For previous alerts concerning Yevgeniy Zhovtis, go to: www.wmd.org/alerts/archive/Eurasia/all

To view a video message from Yevgeniy Zhovtis to the participants of the World Movement's Sixth Assembly, go to:www.wmd.org/assemblies/sixth-assembly/video#yz