Wife and son of jailed dissident poet participate in protest at Kazakhstan embassy
Aron Atabek is a prize-winning poet and political writer in Kazakhstan. On his behalf, his wife and son have flown to London to participate in a Campaign Kazakhstan protest at the Kazakhstan Embassy Thurloe Square, South Kensington on Fri 5 Oct at 1pm.
Aron Atabek is currently in jail in Kazakhstan, having served 5 years of an 18 year sentence for supposedly orchestrating “mass disorder” – protesting against the demolition of the shanty-town Shanyrak and social-cleansing of its people. He vehemently denies his guilt, and has rejected an offer by the government of a pardon on condition that he confessed.
‘Nazarbayev’s Regime and Revolution’ is one of the collections of Atabek’s prose and poetry published online since his imprisonment. His works are highly critical of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, and his policies, lamenting the lack of democracy in this former Soviet nation.
Ben Robinson, from Campaign Kazakhstan, said “Aron Atabek’s imprisonment is yet another clear example of what happens to those who stand up for human rights, workers’ rights and the rights of people whose homes are under attack in Kazakhstan. This despotic regime – advised by ‘Tony Blair Associates’ – fears all independent voices, including poets and writers like Aron Atabek, and other cultural figures”.