KAZAKHSTAN: ALMA-ATA INFO EDITOR CHARGED WITH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000058 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ALMA-ATA INFO EDITOR CHARGED WITH DISSEMINATING CLASSIFIED INFORMATION REF: 08 ASTANA 2383 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On January 9, the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper "Alma-Ata Info", Ramazan Yesergepov, was formerly charged with disseminating classified information in an article his paper published on November 21. Yesergepov has been in the custody of the Committee for National Security (KNB) since January 6, when he was forcibly taken to Taraz, the capital of Zhambul oblast, for KNB questioning. Yesergepov refuses to give testimony and has declared a hunger strike. His wife petitioned the courts to have a different agency investigate her husband, arguing that as the plaintiff in the case, the Zhambul oblast KNB cannot be objective. She requested the Embassy's help in assuring the request is granted. As reported previously, Yesergepov sought political asylum at Embassy Branch Office (EBO) Almaty on December 1 when the KNB first summoned him for questioning. He left the EBO after receiving assurances that he was only wanted as a witness in the investigation. Despite having assured the Charge d'Affaires on December 2 that he would cooperate with the investigation, Yesergepov subsequently refused to be questioned by the KNB and declared that he would only be questioned in court. Kazakhstani opposition and civil society leaders, usually quick to speak up in politically-resonant cases, have remained uncharacteristically quiet regarding Yesergepov's case. END SUMMARY. CHARGED WITH DISSEMINATING CLASSIFIED INFORMATION ¶3. (SBU) Ramazan Yesergepov, the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper "Alma-Ata Info," was formerly charged with disseminating classified information on January 9. The charge stems from an article published in his paper on November 21 that allegedly used classified documents as sources (see reftel). Yesergepov has been in the custody of the Zhambul oblast branch of the Committee for National Security (KNB) since January 6. On January 9, a district court in Taraz, the capital of Zhambul oblast, formerly charged him with violating Article 172, Part 4 of the Kazakhstani Criminal Code for divulging and disseminating state secrets leading to grave consequences, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison. He was also charged with violating Article 228, for abuse of professional authority which damages the interests of others. Yesergepov's wife, Raushan Yesergepova, has appealed the decision to the oblast (regional) court. She also filed a petition to have her husband's case investigated by a law enforcement agency other than the KNB, arguing that the Zhambul oblast branch of the KNB is the plaintiff in this case and therefore cannot be objective in its investigation. Yesergepova asked for the Embassy's help in insuring that the court grants her petition. She told us that Yesergepov refuses to give testimony and has gone on a hunger strike in protest. ¶4. (SBU) According to Yesergepova, her husband was forcefully taken into custody in the early hours of January 6 from the Almaty hospital where he was being treated for high blood pressure. She did not find out about the situation until mid-morning that day, when she went to visit her husband. The KNB released a statement soon after confirming that Yesergepov was "forcibly brought" to Taraz after being judged to be in "sound medical condition." The KNB further alleged that Yesergepov "has used multiple excuses and tactics to avoid the investigator's summons and has continuously tried to politicize the situation." The statement clarified that Yesergepov was wanted for questioning in connection with his paper's November 21 article that described corruption in the ranks of Zhambyl oblast KNB branch and was purportedly based on classified sources. The officer who allegedly leaked the information to the paper was arrested on December 5. YESERGEPOV RENEGES ON PROMISE TO COOPERATE ¶5. (SBU) As reported in reftel, Yesergepov sought political asylum at Embassy Branch Office (EBO) Almaty on December 1, after the KNB initially summoned him for questioning. Citing fears for his personal safety, Yesergepov refused to leave the premises until the Charge impressed upon him the MFA's assurances that he was only wanted as a witness and that no harm would come to him if he cooperated. At the time, the KNB publicly confirmed that he was "only wanted as a witness and will not be deprived of his freedom" ASTANA 00000058 002 OF 002 if he came in for questioning. In turn, Yesergepov agreed to leave the EBO voluntarily and agreed to go to Taraz for questioning. ¶6. (SBU) We have kept in close touch with Yesergepov since his asylum request. Several days after leaving the EBO, Yesergepov told us that he did not intend to go to Taraz for questioning since it was "within his rights" to be questioned by the KNB's Almaty branch. He also filed suits against the KNB for illegal search and seizure of his offices and for "attempted kidnapping." He told us that he formerly informed the Procurator General's Office (PGO) that he refused to give testimony to the KNB "because they cannot be trusted" and that he would "only give testimony in court." As far as we know, the PGO did not respond to his assertions. OPPOSITION, CIVIL SOCIETY MAINTAIN DISTANCE ¶7. (SBU) Leading opposition and civil society leaders, who are usually quick to speak up in politically-resonant cases, have stayed uncharacteristically quiet regarding the Yesergepov affair. Some of them appear to view Yesergepov as a loose cannon. When we sought the help of leading opposition journalist Sergei Duvanov to convince Yesergepov to leave the EBO, Duvanov, who has his own history of dealing with intimidation by the authorities, told us that while he was ready to help, his intervention was unlikely to bring positive results since he and Yesergepov "have long been on the outs." Oleg Katsiyev, director of the independent satellite network InterNews, told us he was not surprised to hear of Yesergepov's "KNB trouble" since "he has long been baiting them." Human Rights Bureau's director Evgeniy Zhovtis, Kazakhstan's most prominent civil society activist, consulted with Yesergepov several times, but has since distanced himself from the case. However, several journalists and less prominent NGO figures did sign an open letter to President Nazarbayev and the Procurator General in support of Yesergepov on January 8. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: We are continuing to monitor Yesergepov's situation and talk with his family on a daily basis, but believe that at this juncture, we should follow the example of Kazakhstan's opposition and civil society leaders and avoid becoming overly entangled in Yesergepov's case, which he, to an extent, has brought upon himself by his continued refusal to cooperate with the authorities. The November 21 "Alma-Ata Info" article that landed Yesergepov in trouble explicitly referenced documents it admitted were classified as "secret." For Yesergepov to successfully defend himself against the criminal charges, he will likely have to show that there was no basis for classifying them in the first place -- which will perhaps prove to be a very high bar. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND