22 January 2005 -- The wife of jailed Kazakh opposition leader Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov said today her husband was placed in an isolation cell for allegedly skipping his prison-ordered work.
Zhaqiyanov was convicted in 2002 on corruption charges his supporters and human rights groups say were politically motivated. He was sent last year to a special settlement in northern Kazakhstan to serve the remainder of his seven-year term.
Karlygash Zhaqiyanova said prison authorities placed her husband in an isolation cell yesterday for allegedly for allegedly failing to report for work on a cattle farm. She called the two-day punishment an attempt to further isolate her husband.
The move came as Zhaqiyanov's party, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, continues to fight its court-ordered closure earlier this month. Party members say the closure is an attempt to muzzle the opposition ahead of a new presidential ballot.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's term is due to end in January 2006.
(AP)
Karlygash Zhaqiyanova said prison authorities placed her husband in an isolation cell yesterday for allegedly for allegedly failing to report for work on a cattle farm. She called the two-day punishment an attempt to further isolate her husband.
The move came as Zhaqiyanov's party, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, continues to fight its court-ordered closure earlier this month. Party members say the closure is an attempt to muzzle the opposition ahead of a new presidential ballot.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's term is due to end in January 2006.
(AP)