Kazakh Activist Summoned For 'Preventive Conversation' After Planning Tribute To Slain Journalist

Kazakh activist Abzal Dostiyarov was summoned by police after saying he and others planned a public tribute to fellow activist Aidos Sadyqov, who was shot and killed in a car in Kyiv.

Kazakh activist Abzal Dostiyarov was summoned by police on July 4 amid pressure being applied on rights activists during the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Astana. After Dostiyarov departed police headquarters, a spokesman confirmed to RFE/RL that he had been summoned for a "preventive conversation." Right activists have been under pressure since July 2 after many demanded Kazakh officials arrange the repatriation and burial with honors of opposition activist and journalist Aidos Sadyqov, who died in Kyiv on July 1 after being shot 13 days earlier in the Ukrainian capital. Ukraine named two Kazakh men as suspects. Kazakh officials said they were ready to cooperate with Kyiv in the investigation but refused the extradition of the two to Ukraine, arguing that Kazakh law doesn't permit it. Dostiyarov and others said they were planning a tribute to Sadyqov. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.