A Kazakh court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by a human rights activist who was jailed last month over a road accident in a trial criticised by rights campaigners as politically motivated.
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Kazakh court rejects jailed activist's appeal
"Leave the sentence... unchanged," judge Yerkhan Totybai-tegi said in court.
Activist Yevgeny Zhovtis was sentenced to four years in prison last month after his car hit a pedestrian who then died. Rights groups said he was denied the right to present a proper defence at the trial.
Kazakhstan's human rights record has come under close scrutiny this year because the ex-Soviet nation will take over the rotating chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.
Reuters
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