TITLE: KAZAKHSTAN HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994 AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DATE: FEBRUARY 1995 KAZAKHSTAN In its third year of independence, Kazakhstan continued to grapple uncertainly with the task of shedding Soviet-era authoritarian political institutions and a centralized command economy. President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in his third year of a 5-year term in office, remained the leading political figure in the country and sought to bolster his position in multiparty elections in March for the Supreme Soviet (legislature) and local councils. The elections were seriously compromised by fraud and judged by international observers as not free and fair. Nevertheless, the Supreme Soviet's independence as a separate branch of government was strengthened by some reformist deputies and by conservatives who showed loyalty to regional interests. It rejected certain economic and social policies as well as some appointees put forward by the President. In October, blaming top ministers for poor progress on economic reform, Nazarbayev replaced Cabinet members with a largely younger and more reformist group. The Ministry of Internal Affairs supervises the criminal police, who are poorly paid and corruptible. The Committee for National Security (KNB) sought to legitimize its role by focusing on efforts to counter terrorism, organized crime, and official corruption. Efforts to build a small, modern army were impeded by the shortage of funds, the flight of ethnic Russian officers to Russia, and continued brutal hazing of conscripts. Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources, such as oil and minerals, but its state-dominated economy continued to decline sharply in 1994, with high inflation, falling production, and a budget deficit of one-tenth of the gross domestic product. Agricultural production remained largely collectivized. Bureaucratic restraints, high taxes, and rampant government corruption hampered the small but dynamic private sector. Privatization, a vital necessity for economic recovery and growth, gained momentum, but abuses and lack of openness led to strong public concerns. While general macroeconomic stabilization came in 1994, faster microeconomic, or structural, reforms are needed. Massive fraud in the March elections effectively deprived citizens of the right to change their government (see Section 3). The Government turned over Uzbek dissidents to security forces of the Government of Uzbekistan (see Section 1.d.). Criminal police continued to beat some detainees and search homes without warrants, and prison conditions deteriorated further due to budget restrictions. Freedom of the media is extensive, and the press frequently criticized the Government despite government control of printing facilities and supplies. Freedoms of assembly and religion were generally respected, but the Government refused to register associations and political parties based on ethnic and religious criteria. The "propiska" system of permits for residence in the capital is still used to restrict internal freedom of movement. Although Kazakh discrimination against non-Kazakhs continued, such practices decreased as ethnic Slavs became more vocal. Domestic violence against women continued. While seeking to become somewhat more independent and critical of the Government, state-sponsored unions continued to subject independent trade unions and their members to harassment and pressure. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings. b. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Although the law prohibits these practices, there were credible reports that police beat and otherwise treated detainees abusively to obtain confessions. Prison conditions deteriorated further in 1994 due to diminishing budget resources and an increase in the number of persons incarcerated. According to human rights groups, in one Almaty prison, for example, 3,900 prisoners occupied a facility designed for 1,800. The prison diet is inadequate. Prisoners are allowed to receive only one visit every 6 months, but additional visits may be granted in emergency situations. Juveniles are kept in separate facilities. According to press reports and human rights observers, inadequate diet and medical supplies have led to outbreaks of tuberculosis and dystrophy in many of Kazakhstan's prisons. Lice and scabies are common. Some 40 prisoners in Karaganda and 35 in Atyrau reportedly died from conditions aggravated by malnourishment and lack of basic medical treatment. Prison guards, who are poorly paid, steal food and medicines from the prisons, leaving little for the prisoners. Violent crime among prisoners is routine. There was an unconfirmed report of cannibalism in a prison in Semipalatinsk in which five prisoners killed and ate a cell mate. According to the Kazakhstan-American Human Rights Bureau, there were 85,000 prisoners in Kazakhstan in 1994, of whom 6,000 suffered major illnesses because of inadequate diet and sanitation. About 1,150 prisoners died of those illnesses during the year. d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile Because of the slow pace of legal reform, Kazakhstan continued to use the Soviet legal system, with some modifications, in 1994. The law sanctions pretrial detention. Prosecutors issue arrest warrants. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, police may hold a detainee for 3 days before bringing charges. After 3 days, police may continue to hold the detainee with the approval of a prosecutor, but no longer than 10 days without bringing charges. In practice, however, police routinely hold detainees for more than the legal 10-day limit. The maximum length of pretrial detention is 1 year. Pretrial detainees comprised about 30 percent of the total prison population in 1994. Detainees are not held incommunicado. Defendants in criminal cases have the right to choose an attorney and to appeal the legality of their arrest to the prosecutor before trial. If the defendant cannot afford an attorney, the State will provide one free of charge. There is no provision for bail; defendants remain incarcerated until trial. Some lawyers fear reprisals if they represent a client unpopular with the Government, but there were no reports of such reprisals in 1994. Many lawyers, nevertheless, remain reluctant to defend clients of whom the Government is suspicious. There were instances of arrest without the filing of specific charges. In May the Government arrested 3,000 to 4,000 people in what it announced was an emergency measure against crime. Ninety percent were eventually released without being charged. In 1994 members of Uzbekistan's security services in two instances attempted to arrest Uzbek dissidents in Kazakhstan. The first occurred in May during a human rights conference in Almaty when Uzbek security agents openly sought Uzbek dissidents at their hotels. The Government reacted swiftly, publicly announcing that the Uzbek agents had been located and that they had departed, and that it would guarantee the safety of all those attending the conference. The second incident occurred in June when the Uzbekistan Government, acting under the Minsk Convention of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on cooperation among the security services of CIS member states, requested the arrest of two Uzbek dissidents, Murat Dzhurayev and Dzhakhangir Mametov, on charges of murder. Kazakhstani authorities permitted Uzbek agents to arrest Dzhurayev and another Uzbek dissident, Erkin Ashurov (but not Mametov), and take them to Uzbekistan. Once in Uzbekistan, Uzbek authorities dropped the murder charges and instead charged the two with distributing illegal literature and conspiring to overthrow the Government of Uzbekistan. In August the Uzbekistan National Security Service asked the Kazakhstani KNB to interrogate four Kazakhstani citizens whose names were found among belongings of the arrested dissidents. The KNB interrogated the four but did not arrest or otherwise harass them. Kazakhstani human rights groups and several Supreme Soviet deputies protested the interrogations. e. Denial of Fair Public Trial Government interference and pressure compromise the court system's independence. During the campaign for the March Supreme Soviet elections, local officials in a number of areas around the country pressured local courts to rule against opposition candidates who contested the refusal of local election commissions to register them as candidates. Several independent trade unions have claimed that local courts often rule against them and that they can expect a fairer hearing if they appeal to a higher court. There are three levels in the court system: the local level, the oblast (province) level, and the Supreme Court. The President recommends nominees for the Supreme Court for Supreme Soviet approval. Heads of oblasts recommend nominees for oblast soviet (council) approval. Regional or city councils elect, at least nominally, lower level judges. Judges are appointed for 10-year terms. The Constitutional Court, established in 1992, interprets the Constitution, resolves legal conflicts between oblasts, and rules on interethnic problems. The law provides for due process, including the right to a public trial, the right to counsel, the right to call witnesses for the defense, and the right to appeal a decision to a higher court. Local courts try less serious crimes, such as petty theft and vandalism (hooliganism, in the old terminology). Oblast-level courts handle more serious crimes, such as murder, grand theft, and organized criminal activities. The oblast courts may handle cases in rural areas where no local courts are organized. Judgments of the local courts may be appealed to the oblast-level courts, while those of the oblast courts may be appealed to the Supreme Court. A special arbitration court handles disputes between state enterprises. There were no known political prisoners in 1994. f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence The KNB and Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the concurrence of the Procuracy, may arbitrarily interfere with privacy, family, home, and correspondence, a legacy of Soviet rule. The law requires criminal police, who remain part of the internal security structure, to obtain a search warrant from a prosecutor before conducting a search, but they sometimes search without a warrant. There were credible reports in 1994 that police occasionally planted evidence. The KNB has the right to monitor telephone calls and mail, but under the law it must inform the Procuracy within 3 days of such activity. Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including: a. Freedom of Speech and Press The Constitution and the 1991 press law provide for freedom of the press. The Government continued to own and control printing and distribution facilities and to subsidize periodicals, including many supposedly "independent" ones. However, the opposition press, while dependent on government control of printing supplies, was not subject to intimidation or harassment. Although self-censorship continued, some print media increasingly criticized Supreme Soviet and presidential decisions, the Government's performance, and official corruption. The independent newspaper, Karavan, was particularly successful in expanding its circulation (to about 300,000) and sharply criticized many government policies and actions. Most political opposition groups issue their own publications. There are many radio and television companies, both governmental and private, but the Government controls broadcasting facilities. In April President Nazarbayev restructured state television and radio into a corporation, which encouraged independent stations to join it in exchange for national broadcast time. Fearing government control, leaders of independent television and radio immediately objected to joining the corporation. Their opposition, in which some members of Parliament and even the Ministry of Press and Mass Media joined, was strong enough to prevent the corporation from gaining control over the independents. During the parliamentary election campaign in the winter and early spring of 1994, the television station Telemax went off the air for several days when local authorities, upset by broadcasts critical of Almaty's mayor and other city officials, shut off electricity to the station. The station owners moved to an undisclosed location and continued to broadcast criticism of the local authorities. Later in the spring, when the independent television station from which Telemax had purchased broadcast time expanded its programming and took back the broadcast time, Telemax went off the air, but its affiliate radio stations continue to broadcast news critical of local and national government. Laws insulting the President and Supreme Soviet deputies remain on the books, but according to government officials the provisions for punishment for "insulting" have been dropped. No one was prosecuted for "insulting" in 1994. b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association, but there are some significant restrictions. Local authorities must approve a demonstration 10 days in advance, or else they consider it illegal. The court sentenced five organizers of a demonstration outside the Supreme Soviet in May to 3- to 15-day jail terms for organizing an illegal demonstration. To participate in elections, a political party must register with the Government. To register, a party must submit a list of at least 3,000 members from a minimum of 11 (out of 19) different oblasts. The list must provide personal information about the members, including date and place of birth, address, and place of employment. Submitting such personal data to the Government recalls for many Kazakhstanis old-style KGB tactics and inhibits them from joining parties. The nationalist and pan-Turkic Alash Party and the Social Democratic Party have refused to register on the principle that they should not have to submit personal information about their members to the Government. Members of unregistered parties may run for elected office as individuals but not as party members. Organizations or movements that conduct public activity, hold public meetings, participate in conferences, or have bank accounts must also register with the Government. Registration on the local level requires a minimum of 10 members and on the national level a minimum of 10 members in at least 11 oblasts. The Government's refusal to register religious and ethnic-based parties and movements is not a stated policy, although some officials refer to Article 55 of the Constitution, which prohibits public associations proclaiming or demonstrating in practice racist, nationalist, social, or religious intolerance or elitist exclusivity. In November the Ministry of Justice suspended the activities of the Semirechye Cossack Society for paramilitary activities and promotion of ethnic intolerance. The Society organized a peaceful but unauthorized demonstration in Almaty on November 19. Two organizers were arrested. According to the new Civil Code adopted in December, political parties, trade unions, and social organizations "engaged in political activity" are prohibited from receiving financial assistance from foreign sources. Government officials have justified decisions not to register ethnic-based parties and movements on the grounds that their activities could spark ethnic violence. Unregistered parties and movements are, nonetheless, able to hold meetings and publish newspapers, although these groups frequently appear to have more difficulty obtaining printing supplies than other publishers. c. Freedom of Religion The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the various denominations worship without government interference. However, a new Civil Code passed by the Supreme Soviet in December requires state authorities to approve the appointment of the Kazakhstan director of any religious organization operating in Kazakhstan. The Islamic Mufti and the Russian Orthodox Archbishop have appeared together publicly to promote religious and ethnic harmony. Foreign missionaries, unwelcome to some Orthodox and Muslim Kazakhstanis, have complained of occasional harassment by some low-level government bureaucrats. d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation The Constitution provides for the right to emigrate, which is respected in practice. The propiska system of residence permits, a holdover from the Soviet era, remained in effect in 1994. Since 1992, citing ecological and health reasons, the Almaty city administration has limited the transfer of residences in Almaty to people already living there. According to human rights activists, the rising demand to live in Almaty (because of its greater relative affluence) has resulted in a bribery market for propiskas ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. Obtaining a propiska for other parts of the country was generally routine. There is considerable favoritism toward ethnic Kazakhs in the allocational transfer of residences. For example, the Almaty city administration is more likely to give permission to sell or trade a residence if a Kazakh is to receive the property. An exit visa is required for travel abroad, although refusals are exceptional. There have been reports of some officials demanding bribes for exit visas. The Government accords special treatment to Kazakhs and their families who fled Kazakhstan during Stalin's time and wish to return. Kazakhs in this category are encouraged to return to Kazakhstan, are entitled to Kazakhstani citizenship, and may retain any other citizenship they may already have. Anyone else, including ethnic Kazakhs who are not considered refugees from the Stalin era, such as the descendants of Kazakhs who moved to Mongolia during the previous century, must apply for permission to return and must renounce any other citizenship. Ethnic Kazakh citizens already living in Kazakhstan, as well as nonethnic Kazakh citizens, are not permitted to obtain another citizenship without losing their Kazakhstani citizenship. Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government While the Constitution provides for this right, the Government infringed it in fraudulent March 7 elections for the Supreme Soviet and local councils (maslikhats). In December 1993, the Supreme Soviet voted to advance the date of parliamentary and local elections (scheduled to be held at 5-year intervals) from autumn 1994 to March 7. This left little time for the Government to prepare a new election law and for parties and candidates to prepare election campaigns. The Government invited the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and other international observers to monitor the elections. The CSCE observers concluded that the elections did not meet international standards for free and fair elections for the following reasons: (1) the requirement that voters choose about 20 percent of the deputies from a list of names chosen by the President (the "state list"); (2) manipulation of errors and ambiguities in the hastily written election law in favor of progovernment candidates; (3) the stuffing of ballot boxes in many locations; (4) denial of the right to register many opposition candidates; (5) court support for the refusal of election commissions to register opposition candidates; appeals to the Constitutional and Supreme Courts were ineffective; (6) the abetting of election rigging by the Central Electoral Commission, thus compromising its integrity; (7) a number of polling places were "closed" to observers; (8) and harassment and intimidation by the authorities of independent media which were critical of the activities of local election commissions, particularly in Almaty and Karaganda. There is some irony in the fact that this fraud, presumably intended to ensure a more progovernment and compliant Parliament, was somewhat counterproductive because so many of those elected showed more loyalty on some issues to their regions (which were suffering from the economic crisis) than to the central Government. For example, in June Parliament registered a vote of no confidence in the Cabinet's economic and social policies. In October Parliament rejected President Nazarbayev's proposed candidate for deputy prime minister for political and social affairs on the grounds that he was corrupt, and then voted down a second candidate because he was perceived to be too young to occupy such a senior position. Late in 1994, parliamentary opposition forced President Nazarbayev to abandon his bid to create a bicameral legislature, with a more malleable upper house. Parliamentary opposition to the Government's policies comes from both genuine democratic reformers and from conservatives who are protecting parochial or local interests. On some issues they join forces. The combined effect of this opposition has been to make the Parliament more independent. The next presidential elections (also held every 5 years) are scheduled for 1996. All men and women above the age of 18 have the right to vote. President Nazarbayev was elected by 98 percent of the vote in an uncontested election in 1991. The number of seats in the Supreme Soviet is 177: 135 elected directly, and 42 (2 from each oblast or special administrative area) elected from the "state list" of candidates chosen by the President. There are four legally registered political parties: the Socialist Party; the People's Congress Party (formed by poet and environmentalist Olzhas Suleymenov); the National Democratic Party (the political arm of the Kazakh nationalist movement Azat); and the Communist Party, reregistered in July 1994. The Union of People's Unity (SNEK), a registered social movement created by President Nazarbayev to support his presidency, has the largest number of deputies of any group in Parliament. Only about 80 members of the Supreme Soviet are affiliated with a political party, movement, or social organization. President Nazarbayev, although officially not a member of any party, has accepted the formal endorsement of the SNEK. Unregistered opposition parties and movements include the Social Democrats, the Alash Party, and the conservative Kazakh nationalist Republican Party. The Government has refused to register any party or movement whose platforms it claims will foment ethnic tensions. There are no legal restrictions on women participating in politics and government. Owing to prejudice and traditional attitudes, however, few women are professionally active in these fields. Of 177 Supreme Soviet deputies, 22 are women. The Constitution guarantees equal political rights for all citizens regardless of ethnicity or sex. Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights The most active of several local human rights organizations are the Helsinki Watch Group and the Kazakhstan-American Human Rights Association, which operated without government interference. The Helsinki Watch Group has limited organizational and financial means to observe, contest, and report human rights violations. The Kazakhstan-American Human Rights Association receives assistance from the Union of Councils of Soviet Jews. The two groups cooperate closely on human rights issues, such as the arrest of Uzbek dissidents (see Section l.d.). The Kazakhstan-American Human Rights Association sponsored human rights conferences in Almaty in May and in November in which government officials and parliamentarians participated. The Government permitted representatives of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) dealing with human rights and the environment to visit and meet with opposition and environmentalist groups as well as some government officials. However, Kazakhstan law currently has no provision for registering foreign NGO's. In November the Government signed an agreement formalizing registration of U.S. NGO's. For periods of time in 1994, the Government interfered with telephone and facsimile (fax) communications of the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and Isar, an environmental NGO. The new Civil Code prohibits organizations, including political parties and trade unions, from receiving financial assistance from foreign sources. Some government officials assert that the work of foreign NGO's with Kazakhstani political and labor groups promotes instability. Some human rights observers complained that the Government monitored their movements and telephone calls.