KAZAKHSTAN - CRIMINAL CASE OPENED UP AGAINST KEY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001872 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KCRM KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN - CRIMINAL CASE OPENED UP AGAINST KEY OPPOSITION LEADERS Classified By: Pol-Econ Chief Steven Fagin, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced on September 24 that it has opened a criminal case against several key opposition figures -- Azat's Bulat Abilov, OSDP's Amirzhan Kosanov, Alga's Vladimir Kozlov, and the Shanyrak movement's Asylbek Kozhakhmetov -- for allegedly concealing the whereabouts of a suspect in a murder investigation. The suspect is Yesentay Baysakov, a Pavlodar businessman and erstwhile member of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) who is accused of masterminding the murder of a business competitor in 2001. He currently resides in Ukraine as a political refugee, a status he apparently received with the help of support letters from Kazakhstan's opposition leaders. Kazakhstani law enforcement authorities are now accusing the oppositionists of willfully concealing Baysakov's whereabouts and aiding his escape from justice. The opposition leaders call the case "groundless and politically motivated" and claim to have had no advance knowledge that Baysakov was under investigation. Privately, all stress that they do not know Baysakov well and that the letters were sent on behalf of several individuals, not just him. Other figures in the opposition camp give little credence to the criminal case and see it as an attempt to handicap the opposition. -------------- TANGLED CASE -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On September 24, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) opened a criminal case against several key opposition leaders for allegedly concealing and abetting a suspect in a serious crime. The accused are Azat party chair Bulat Abilov, OSDP deputy head Amirzhan Kosanov, Alga party leader Vladimir Kozlov, and Shanyrak movement head (and former Alga leader) Asykbek Kozhakhmetov. The case against them is a tangled and complicated story that revolves around a heretofore largely unknown personality, Yesentay Baysakov, who was apparently previously involved to the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK),the party started by Abilov and Galymzhan Zhakiyanov in 2001. In 2003, at the time of the launch of the corruption case against Zhakiyanov that eventually landed him in prison, Baysakov and several others connected to DVK fled the country and asked for political asylum in Ukraine. The opposition leaders currently under investigation subsequently signed two letters in support of their asylum petitions. Law enforcement authorities now claim that Baysakov was involved in the high-profile 2001 murder of a Pavlodar businessman, Boris Kostanov. Baysakov allegedly ordered Kostanov's murder after a failed attempt to take over his chemical business. The authorities' case against the opposition leaders is that they willfully concealed Baysakov's whereabouts and aided his escape by supporting his asylum application. Kazakhstan requested Baysakov's extradition this year, but Ukrainian authorities refused the request on the basis of his protected status. The opposition leaders' two letters were apparently part of the package of documents Ukraine sent back to Kazakhstan in support of the refusal to extradite. -------------- ACCUSATIONS OF POLITICAL PERSECUTION -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The opposition leaders are denying any wrong-doing and accusing the authorities of "political persecution." In a press release, Abilov, Kosanov, and Kozhahmetov called the case against them "groundless and politically motivated." They do not deny signing the two letters, but maintain that the letters were on behalf of several Zhakiyanov associates, not just Baysakov, and that this was done at the time of the "complete persecution of opposition leaders and activists" in Kazakhstan. The opposition leaders further claim that they had no idea that Baysakov was under investigation. They accuse the authorities of "waging yet another campaign to discredit the opposition" and using this case to detract attention from the "slew of corruption scandals" plaguing the government. They further maintain that this is an attempt by the authorities to exclude the opposition from future elections. (Note: If convicted, the opposition leaders would not be able to stand for election until the conclusion of their sentences. There are, however, no national elections scheduled until 2012, when both parliamentary and presidential elections should be conducted. In his September 2 speech opening the latest session of parliament, President Nazarbayev said there was no reason to hold early parliamentary elections. End Note.) ASTANA 00001872 002 OF 002 -------------- OPPOSITIONISTS DENY LINKS TO MURDER SUSPECT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) While presenting a united public front to the media, privately, the four oppositionists are trying to distance themselves from Baysakov and the 2001 murder case. Abilov, Kosanov, and Kozhakhmetov stressed in conversations with us that they signed numerous letters on behalf of Zhakiyanov's associates living in Ukraine and that they did this on the personal request of Zhakiyanov's close friend, Tolen Tokhtasynov, a current deputy head of Kazakhstan's Communist Party who appears to reside outside of the country. Kozlov maintained that he never signed any letters on behalf of Baysakov. Both Kozlov and Kosanov underlined that they never met Baysakov, and Abilov and Kozhakhmetov said they met him only briefly, during a 2004 trip to Ukraine. All claim that they did not know that Baysakov was sought by the authorities. (Note: While it is certainly feasible that Baysakov's name could have gone unnoticed on the letters in support of his asylum claim, it is perhaps less plausible that none of the opposition leaders were aware up until now of his alleged involvement in the murder. We uncovered several Kazakhstani press articles from before Baysakov fled Kazakhstan in 2003 fingering him as a suspect in the crime. End Note.) ¶5. (SBU) Other key figures in the opposition camp give little credence to the charges and see the case as an attempt by the authorities to handicap the opposition. Socialist Resistance movement head Aynur Kurmanov endorsed the idea that the government wants to exclude the opposition leaders from future elections. Azat deputy head Peter Svoik called the charges a red herring, aimed at distracting the public from the worsening economic situation, internal battles within the ruling elite, and the continuous swipes from ex-Nazarbayev son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev. Opposition journalist Sergey Duvanov argued to us that the whole case is completely fabricated. "The opposition leaders don't even know who this guy is," he contended. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) The case against the opposition leaders has come out of the blue. At this early juncture, the government's motivations are difficult to decipher. The move appears to be inconsistent with Kazakhstan's domestic political realities -- and, should the cases lead to actual indictments, can only sully the country's international image as its 2010 OSCE chairmanship approaches. The opposition is fractured and marginalized, posing no threat to the government, and no elections are mandated for four more years. In addition, there appeared to have recently been a thaw in government-opposition relations. Nazarbayev held separate private meetings with Bulat Abilov and OSDP head Zharmakhan Tukaybay in the Spring, after which there was rampant speculation they were cutting a deal on early parliamentary elections that would lead to limited opposition seats in parliament. While opposition leaders have criticized the government's handling of the Rakhat Aliyev case, their demands that Aliyev be brought to justice in Kazakhstan and opposition press exposes of his wrongdoing largely fit hand-in-glove with the government's own anti-Aliyev efforts. Nazarbayev's categorical rejection of early elections in his September 2 speech to parliament caught may have signaled a change in course, but nevertheless there had been no hints of any preparations to go after the opposition. End Comment. MILAS