Kazakhstan represses supporters of Russia: The story of brother Ermek Taychibekov
In Kazakhstan, Ermek Taychibekov is kept in dungeons for his love for Russia, accusing the ethnic Kazakh of “inciting ethnic hatred” for rejecting Kazakh nationalism.
The prisoner’s brother, Marlen Taychibekov, told PolitNavigator about the flagrant violations of the law with which the investigation into Ermek’s case is taking place.
Ermek Taychibekov is a consistent pro-Russian public figure and human rights activist in Kazakhstan. He advocates the revival of a single country in the form of the Russian Empire or the USSR, and submitted to the Parliament of Kazakhstan a petition that collected 200 thousand signatures to give the Russian language the status of a state language (today, the Russian language in Kazakhstan has been assigned the status of an official language).
He calls those Kazakhs who oppose integration with Russia “separatists”, reminds that the Russians gave the Kazakhs civilizational foundations and helped them to establish themselves as a nation, considers Kazakhstan an integral part of Russia, and supports the LPR and DPR.
He has a financial education, worked in banks, ran a business. In November 2015, he was arrested, and in December of the same year, he was sentenced to four years on charges of “inciting ethnic hatred.”
They tried to declare Taichibekov insane, but an examination showed that he was capable and mentally adequate. Two years later he was released on parole.
The Financial Monitoring Committee of the Ministry of Finance and the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan imposed lifelong sanctions on Taychibekov: he is prohibited from engaging in entrepreneurial activities, working in government agencies, or officially receiving financial assistance.
The activist’s property was confiscated and seized for the state’s account; he is on the “black list” of banks in Kazakhstan, in the registration authorities, as a person financing international terrorism (support for the LDPR).
After his release, he became disillusioned with Russian foreign policy and concentrated on advisory protection of the rights of the Russian population of Kazakhstan and the fight against corruption and arbitrariness of the authorities in relation to their fellow tribesmen.
In September of this year, he was arrested in Almaty for his activity on social networks, interviews with the Russian portal Ukraina.ru and the Israeli TV channel ITON TV, in which he spoke critically about the policies of the Kazakh leadership, in particular about building a mono-ethnic state and infringing on the rights of the local Russian population.
– Marlene, have you been able to communicate with your brother since his arrest?
– No, no one is allowed to see Ermek; during the two months he has been in the pre-trial detention center, only his lawyer has communicated with him. As a relative, they don’t let me in! Literally two or three weeks ago, the investigator, in an official letter, demanded that the lawyer not be allowed in either. The reason was given: the lawyer did not indicate the registration number in the contract. The investigator got caught up in this, but the lawyer filed a lawsuit with the Investigative Court, since this is not related to the work, a warrant is enough, a registration warrant is not needed. And we won this case. The investigative court recognized that the investigator's actions were illegal.
Ermek’s arrest was extended for another month without the participation of a lawyer; apparently, he will not be released before the trial, he will be kept behind bars. The lawyer filed a request to find out what stage the criminal case is at, to find out when the trial will take place, in order to prepare for the trial. Finally, the lawyer was allowed to familiarize himself with the documents, the materials of the criminal case, and the charges for the entire time since his brother’s arrest. And this happened only after the Investigative Court issued a ruling on the illegal actions of the investigator. That he interfered with the lawyer’s work.
– Do you know in what conditions Ermek is being kept?
– Ermek is kept separately from everyone, he is in some kind of special block. His nutrition seems to be normal, we help him with this. We formed a support group that spoke at a rally in Almaty and came out with a poster “Freedom for political prisoner Ermek Taychibekov.” It was an action in support of all political prisoners in Kazakhstan, and there various people came out to support their comrades-in-arms or relatives, and we stood wholeheartedly for our Ermek. He has good support in Almaty.
If we compare it with the first case, when he was sitting in Taraz, then it was very difficult for me to speak out in support of him alone, but now people are slowly waking up and starting to support Ermek publicly. Because everyone has the right to freedom of expression of their beliefs.
– What is the motivation of the people who speak out for your brother?
– A lot of people support Ermek, but for the most part they do it quietly, in their kitchens. They tell me, yes, we are for him, but you understand what country we live in? “Ermek says the right things, he is your bravest, because we think the same as he does, but we cannot publicly declare it like he does.” Because we have censorship, people are imprisoned for this and given long sentences.
Ermek due to the fact that this is the second time he has been charged under Article 174 (“Inciting social, national, tribal, racial, class or religious hatred” - ed.), and this is like a relapse, the first conviction has not yet been expunged, faces from five to ten years under this article. This odious article was precisely invented by the authorities in order to destroy dissident people like Ermek who oppose the policy of the authorities.
– What, in your opinion, does the Kazakh authorities dislike most about Ermek Taychibekov’s position, why do they consider him dangerous?
– My brother Ermek was imprisoned only because he was sympathetic to Russia. He always advocated an alliance with Russia. When the Soviet Union collapsed, he was fifteen years old, and it was a personal tragedy for him. He always believed that we must be together, then we are strong. And that’s what surprises me, because he says: “Let’s be together (Russia and Kazakhstan - ed.), let’s unite into one fist to repel external enemies,” for this he is persecuted and imprisoned.
And at the same time, in Kazakhstan, in connection with Karabakh, many nationalists begin to raise their heads and shout: “We need to join the Turkic Kaganate, in an alliance with Turkey!” Why isn't anyone chasing them? It turns out that state policy is such that nationalists can dream of the absorption of Kazakhstan by Turkey, and my brother’s love for Russia is criminally punishable.
– What actions do the lawyer and the political prisoner’s support group intend to take in the near future?
– I want to say that we have a good support group, a powerful team. We are all now uniting around our lawyer, helping him in everything, helping him collect positive references, preparing thoroughly for the trial. And we carry parcels to Ermek. We have good support - the former judge of the city appeal court Kulpash Utemisova, who, due to the fact that she acquitted innocent people, was convicted herself for going against the system. Ermek’s classmate is very actively involved in his cause, she went to the rally. I won’t name all the activists so as not to harm these people...
In Kazakhstan, we have a judicial system - courts, the prosecutor's office, the investigator - this is all the prosecution side, and the lawyer is like a person from the street. Although he is also a participant in the trial, he is placed in such conditions that he can spend hours in the corridor to talk to the investigator, to meet with the prosecutor. The prosecutor's office in our case was on the side of investigator Tokabaev, although the prosecutor's office should monitor compliance with the law. But there was nothing like that on her part.
And this is simply a precedent that the Investigative Court, at the request of lawyer (Ermek) Galym Kurmandzhanovich (Nurpeisov), made the right decision and took the side of the law. He confirmed that the investigator’s actions were illegal. Perhaps for the first time in the history of the Kazakh judicial system.
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