Kazakh Court Dismisses Rights Activist's Appeal

Human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis was sentenced in September

An Almaty regional court today rejected an appeal from jailed human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis for his case to be reviewed, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

Zhovtis's lawyer, Vitaly Voronov, told RFE/RL that the supervisory board of the court found the original verdict was correct and refused to review the trial proceedings.

He added that the appeal to the regional court was Zhovtis's last resort because, according to the law, Zhovtis may not appeal his case to the Supreme Court because it is a minor crime.

Voronov said he is going to visit Zhovtis in prison near the northeastern city of Ust-Kamenogorsk to discuss their next steps. Voronov said they may appeal to the UN Human Rights Committee.

Zhovtis was sentenced in September to four years in prison for his role in a traffic accident in which a pedestrian was killed.

Human rights organizations say the charges against Zhovtis are politically motivated because of his professional activity as a human rights defender.