A court in Kazakhstan’s northern city of Petropavl handed prison terms to four residents on November 28 on charges of separatism and calls to change the country's constitutional order. Vyacheslav Zuderman was sentenced to nine years, while three co-defendants -- Yelena Boldyreva, Madina Qaparova, and Olga Berezhnova -- received seven years each. The four were arrested in March after they called themselves People's Council and publicly announced that they promote "our independence and sovereignty" and "the territorial integrity of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic" -- Kazakhstan’s name when it was part of the Soviet Union. To read the original story of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Four Residents Of Kazakhstan's Northern City Of Petropavl Get Prison Terms On Separatism Charge
The city court in Kazakhstan’s northern city of Petropavl (file photo)