At the end of a visit to Kazakhstan from 17 to 19 September, a European Parliament delegation led by Cristian Dan Preda (EPP, Romania) has called for the release of several people who were arrested for talking to the delegation.
"We discussed with our counterparts the concrete cases of political prisoners, human rights violations, including widespread torture", Preda said in a press release. "We were particularly disturbed by the detention of persons attempting to speak to the delegation (Baklan Kumarbekov and Galia Ospanova), and we urge their immediate release", he added. Ospanova, for example, was arrested by the police after briefly meeting members of the delegation to discuss the situation of her son, who is in prison.
Preda called on the authorities of Kazakhstan to respect their commitments made under international conventions and under the EU-Kazakhstan enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement. He called for the implementation of this partnership that was ratified by the European Parliament in December 2017 (see EUROPE 11924) and that strongly underlines democracy and the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The delegation also expressed its support for the deepening of political dialogue, and bilateral and regional initiatives. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)