ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Zhanbolat Mamai, the jailed leader of the unregistered opposition Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, says an attack is being planned against him while he is being held in custody.
Mamai's wife, Inga Amanbai, told RFE/RL on September 2 that she received a written message from her husband who said that he had reportedly been contacted by an infamous criminal kingpin, Arman Zhumageldiev, known as Dikiy (Wild) Arman, who threatened to "physically retaliate" against him for an unspecified YouTube video.
In the letter to his wife, Mamai wrote that most likely Zhumageldiev, whom he openly criticized in the past, has nothing to do with the threat. Mamai fears the authorities may have decided to organize an attack against him and are using the criminal boss as cover.
"I openly state that the secret services and Kazakhstan's authorities will be behind any attack against me. I had no conflicts with anyone while in custody," Mamai's letter says.
Zhumageldiev was arrested in January following mass anti-government protests and charged with attacking police and abducting 24 persons during the protests.
Zhumageldiev’s lawyer, Talghat Esimov, told RFE/RL that his client is currently being held at the detention center of the Committee of National Security and has no way to send any messages outside of its walls.
The 34-year-old Mamai was arrested in late February. He faces up to 10 years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots and knowingly disseminating false information during the protests in January, which he and his supporters reject as politically motivated.
Last week, the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) called on Kazakh authorities to release Mamai and other political prisoners and stop the criminal prosecution of those who died during unrest in the Central Asian nation in January.