Brussels, 24/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 21 November, the EU welcomed the release of the labour rights activist, Rosa Tuletaeva, who was imprisoned following the Zhanaozen events of 2011 in Kazakhstan. A spokesperson for the High Representative stated in a press release that, “this is a positive step undertaken by Kazakhstan's authorities”. The spokesperson added that, “we also welcome very significant steps taken by Kazakhstan over the past year in developing a National Preventive Mechanism for the monitoring of places of detention”.
The spokesperson pointed out that the EU and Kazakhstan had recently held a constructive dialogue on human rights and said “We look forward to continuing our cooperation on human rights issues, including in relation to the implementation of Universal Periodic Review (UPR, of United Nations) recommendations and the possible release of a number of other detained activists”.
Roza Tuletaeva was sentenced to 5 years in prison following a demonstration in Zhanaozen on 16 December 2011. She was one of the main workers' strike leaders at the Ozenmunaigaz oil company. Tuletaeva was tortured during her detention. (CG)