Human Rights Groups Push for Zhovtis Release

Human rights groups, including the Open Society Foundations, continue to fight for the release of Kazakh human rights defender Evgeniy Zhovtis. To mark the one-year anniversary of his wrongful imprisonment, organizations sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to speak to the Kazakh government about this issue.

Secretary Clinton may meet with Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meetings. Zhovtis was sentenced to four years in prison for vehicular manslaughter, however, the trial was replete with legal inconsistencies and violations of Kazakhstani law.