A resident of Ingushetia asks Evkurov to look into the case of his brother convicted in Kazakhstan

Resident of Ingushetia Magomed Gorchkhanov appealed to Head of the republic reporting a long-term hunger strike of his brother, citizen of the Russian Federation, in the investigative isolation ward of Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, as a sign of protest against arbitrary court trials and asking Yunus-Bek Evkurov for help in protection of his interests outside the country.

The forty-four-years old Gapur Gorchkhanov, according to his brother, has been on a hunger strike since February, 25, this year. On February, 24, a special inter-district court for criminal cases of Pavlodar district of the republic of Kazakhstan sentenced him to 20 years of custody.

Gorchkhanov was acknowledged guilty of crimes stipulated by part 1, clause 235 (forming and guidance of an organized group for the purpose of committing one or several crimes as well as participation in it), part 4 "a", clause 259 (illegal purchasing, traffic and storage for the purpose of sale, manufacturing, processing, forwarding or storage of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances committed by a big group or community (criminal group) of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan.

According to Magomed Gorchkhanov's statement Magomed Multsogov, leader of Ingush human rights center "Mashr", posted in his blog on the "Caucasian Knot", there were gross violations in the trial which influenced the outcome of a case and cased an unjust verdict of the jury. An appeal to the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Kazakhstan was of no effect.

Magomed Gorchkhanov says that his brother has been holding the hunger strike for over two months and his organism is close to exhaustion. In spite of all the requests to stop the hunger strike he is going on with it, therefore the administration of the investigative isolation ward has repeatedly declared its plans of his forced feeding.

The petitioner asks Yunus-Bek Evkurov as Head of Ingushetia, his brother's homeland, to appeal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Ambassador of Russia in Kazakhstan M. N. Bocharnikov with a request to send a competent official to the investigative isolation ward of Pavlodar who could listen to the convict and take necessary measures to protect his legal interests.

Gorchkhanov says that his brother and his defense have filed an appeal to Pavlodar district court where the case was referred on April, 25, and a judgment on it must be brought within one month.

"However, there are reasons to fear that the appellate court will be partial, too", Magomed Gorchkhanov's appeal to Evkurov runs. The petitioner states that according to the information available, some powerful forces at the republican level of Kazakhstan interfered in the trial an no irrefutable evidence of his brother's guilt was produced in court.