At the end of August, I telephoned the well-known Kazakh human rights advocate Yevgeny Zhovtis and asked how things were going on “the front” with the criminal case that had been opened in relation to him. Yevgeny replied that in connection with the celebration of the Day of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, the trial had been postponed until 2 September. I also asked him, as a lawyer, what the punishment could be with respect to the charge that had been brought against him of having committed a DTP [a “road transport event”, known as a “motor vehicle accident” in English–Trans.], as the result of which a person died? Inasmuch as the person who died was himself at fault in what had happened, said Zhovtis, the punishment could be only conditional [a suspended sentence–Trans.].

…On 2 September I telephoned anew. This time Yevgeny Alexandrovich was less optimistically disposed. I think, said he, they’ll give around three years of a real term…
…They gave Yevgeny Zhovtis four years of a colony-settlement.

And I thought: to whose benefit is this? Zhovtis, after all, to the extent that was known to me, is far from the most rank-and-file of the human rights advocates in Kazakhstan. Then I found in the Net a multitude of other facts, bearing witness that in Kazakhstan the rights of people are being violated, that in the country are many totalitarian features, very similar to Russian reality.

…I flew to Almaty – the former capital of Kazakhstan.