Kazakhstan took few meaningful steps to tackle a worsening human rights record in 2015, maintaining a focus on economic development over political reform. Snap presidential elections in April extended President Nursultan Nazarbaev's heavy-handed 24-year rule for another five years. Opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov remains imprisoned after an unfair trial.

Authorities continued to close newspapers, jail and fine people for holding peaceful protests, ban peaceful religious practice, and misuse the vague and overbroad charge of “inciting social, national, clan, racial, class, or religious discord.” Workers’ rights are restricted and the adoption of a new trade union law in 2014 resulted in some trade unions unable to reregister in 2015.

Elections

President Nazarbaev won snap presidential elections on April 26 with 97.7 percent of the vote. The election monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) noted that “reforms for holding genuine democratic elections still have to materialize,” and that “serious procedural deficiencies and irregularities” took place. OSCE/ODIHR also found a lack of genuine opposition and a restricted media environment.

Civil Society

On September 17, France's prime minister signed a decree approving the extradition of government critic and former banker Mukhtar Ablyazov to Russia. Ablyazov remains under threat of extradition pending review of his appeal at France's supreme administrative court.

On April 13, a court imposed restrictions on Saken Baikenov of the Antigeptil group, known for protesting Baikonur rocket launches, for two years after his Facebook posts were found to “incite ethnic discord.” On November 9, authorities arrested Bolatbek Blyalov, also of the Antigeptil group, on suspicion of “inciting social discord.”

On October 12, police arrested activists Ermek Narymbaev and Serikzhan Mambetalin on suspicion of “inciting national discord” after Facebook posts about writings attributed to Murat Telibekov, another civil society activist who is under criminal investigaton on the same charges.

Prison officials put opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov into isolation in mid-July and again in mid-August for prison regime violations. In July, additional restrictions were placed on his visitation, telephone, and parcel rights for six months. In 2015, PEN International and Maina Kiai, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, expressed serious concern about Kozlov's imprisonment and called for his release. Kiai visited Kozlov in prison in January.