ASTANA -- The former warden of a notorious prison in northern Kazakhstan was found guilty today of bribe taking and sentenced to 7 1/2 years in jail, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
Aleksandr Sadovsky was found guilty of abuse of power, extortion, and bribe taking while head of the Kushmurun prison. Former deputy wardens Sergei Trigubko and Talghat Dyusembiev were found guilty of the same crimes and sentenced to seven and eight years in prison, respectively.
The investigation and trial of the three revealed that they had regularly received large sums of money from the relatives of an inmate whom they had threatened with "punishment."
Kushmurun prison became famous in Kazakhstan primarily because prominent opposition politician Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov was jailed there from 2002-06.
Journalists reporting on Zhaqiyanov's ordeal in prison revealed numerous irregularities and human rights abuses.
Aleksandr Sadovsky was found guilty of abuse of power, extortion, and bribe taking while head of the Kushmurun prison. Former deputy wardens Sergei Trigubko and Talghat Dyusembiev were found guilty of the same crimes and sentenced to seven and eight years in prison, respectively.
The investigation and trial of the three revealed that they had regularly received large sums of money from the relatives of an inmate whom they had threatened with "punishment."
Kushmurun prison became famous in Kazakhstan primarily because prominent opposition politician Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov was jailed there from 2002-06.
Journalists reporting on Zhaqiyanov's ordeal in prison revealed numerous irregularities and human rights abuses.