Protesters Picket Kazakh Embassy In Bishkek

BISHKEK, December 6, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- A small group of Kazakh protesters today picketed outside their country's embassy in Kyrgyzstan to demand that all political prisoners in Kazakhstan be freed.

The rally took place on the eve of the start of Abzhan Makhambet's trial in Astana, the Kazakh capital.

Makhambet, a leader of the Kazakh Patriotic Youth Union, was arrested in Kyrgyzstan a year ago and deported to Kazakhstan.

Authorities charge that Makhambet misappropriated money earmarked for elections -- a claim that Makhambet's supporters deny.

(RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, AKIpress)