SFK is disappointed by the recent decision of the Parole Commission on Zhovtis's case

Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan (SFK) expresses its deepest disappointment with the recent decision of the Parole Commission for the Penal Institution ОВ156/13 that has declined Yevgeniy’s Zhovtis’s application for an early release.

Prior to the above review, SFK along with the 77 other organizations sent a letter to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan calling upon him to release Yevgeniy Zhovtis.

Background
Yevgeniy Zhovtis has been the Chair of Soros Foundation – Kazakhstan’s Board of Directors from 1999 through 2002; he is an internationally recognized human rights defender and a recipient of international awards for his work. An outspoken human rights defender in Kazakhstan, Zhovtis also actively participated in various government commissions bringing his expertise and insights as a human rights activist.