Kazakhstan: Imprisoned journalist’s parole request rejected

18 Aug 11 | Index Index, minipost

Imprisoned journalist Ramazan Esergepov’s request for release on parole was rejected for the fourth time yesterday by an appeal commission in Taraz prison, southern Kazakhstan, although under Kazakh law a prisoner can be freed conditionally after serving a third of their sentence. The former owner and editor of the weekly Alma-Ata Info, he was sentenced to three years in prison on 8 August 2009 on a charge of gathering and publishing information that was considered a state secret. He was arrested on 6 January 2009 after publishing an article implicating the National Security Committee (KNB) in influence-trafficking.

Kazakhstan: Editor jailed for three years

11 Aug 09 | Index Index, minipost

Ramazan Esergepov, the owner and editor of the weekly Alma Ata Info in Kazakhstan, has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of gathering and divulging classified documents. The trial, which also banned Esergepov from publishing a newspaper for two years, had been held behind closed doors since it began in April on the grounds that state secrets were involved. Read more here