Zhanaozen Activist To Be Sent To Minimum-Security Kazakh Colony

Roza Tuletaeva during the strike in ZhanaozenThe only female activist Roza Tuletaeva jailed on charges of organizing violent protests in Kazakhstan's southwestern town of Zhanaozen is due to be transferred to a minimum-security penal colony.

A court in Atyrau made the decision regarding the transfer of activist Roza Tuletaeva on January 9.

Tuletaeva had gone on hunger strike while in jail to protest her incarceration and claims that she had been tortured and sexually abused while in custody.

She was sentenced to five years in jail in 2012.

Dozens of other activists were sentenced to prison terms of between three and seven years.

Police shot dead at least 16 people during a crackdown on an oil workers' protest in Zhanaozen in December 2011.

International and domestic rights organizations condemned the violent dispersal of the oil workers, who were demanding the payment of overdue salaries.

rferl.org