ASTANA -- Kazakh civil right activists have been under pressure since July 2, a day before the presidents of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states convened in Astana for a two-day summit.
Astana-based activist Orynbasar Zhanibek told RFE/RL on July 3 that police briefly detained him a day earlier after he demanded Kazakh officials arrange the repatriation and burial with honors of late opposition activist and journalist Aidos Sadyqov, who died in a hospital in Kyiv on July 1. He had been shot 13 days earlier while in his car near his home in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukrainian authorities have named two Kazakh men as suspects in the shooting. Kazakh officials have said they are ready to cooperate with Kyiv in investigating the murder, but refused the extradition of the two to Ukraine, arguing that Kazakh laws does not permit it.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Kazakh Activist Dies Of Gunshot Wounds In Kyiv Hospital
Zhanibek said the police released him after warning him of possible repercussions for his demands. He did not elaborate.
Police in Astana did not officially comment on Zhanibek's detainment.
Also on July 2, police in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, detained Bauyrzhan Adilkhan, an activist with Oyan, Qazaqstan (Wake Up, Kazakhstan) movement, whil he was boarding a plane to Astana and held him in custody for several hours.
The movement said later that the detainment was politically motivated and was most likely conducted to prevent Adilkhan's presence in Astana during the SCO summit.
Almaty police department officials refused to comment on the situation.
The SCO summit started in the Kazakh capital on July 3. Leaders and representatives of the grouping's member states -- China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan -- observers Belarus and Mongolia as well as dialogue partners Azerbaijan, Qatar, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and the United Arab Emirates are taking part in the summit.