Open Society Justice Initiative Statement on Unjust Imprisonment of Evgeniy Zhovtis

NEW YORK—Following the Kazakhstan Supreme Court's refusal to reopen the case of human rights defender Evgeniy Zhovtis, the Open Society Justice Initiative will bring the case to the UN Human Rights Committee.

The Supreme Court's refusal to thoroughly review Zhovtis's verdict betrays a willingness to overlook serious failures in fair trial procedure and is indicative of a deeply flawed criminal justice system. Today's decision is especially troubling given that Kazakhstan is currently chairing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, yet seems to be ignoring its human rights commitments.

Background

Evgeniy Zhovtis is an outspoken advocate for human rights in Kazakhstan and was chair of Soros Foundation Kazakhstan from 1999 to 2002.

In September 2009, Zhovtis was convicted of unintentional vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison after accidentally killing a man walking down the middle of an unlit road. International observers noted a number of procedural violations in both the investigation and the trial. The appeals process failed to adequately address these flaws. Today's Supreme Court decision exhausts all domestic remedies.