Karishal Asanov, a 59-year-old assistant professor at Kazakh State University, was arrested on 19 August 1992 in Alma-Ata. The charge against him relates specifically to an article critical of the President, published in an opposition newspaper and containing extracts from a book by Karishal Asanov. The Deputy Procurator General, on whose order Professor Asanov was arrested, told human rights activists that he had sanctioned the arrest to stop his « criminal activities ». AI considers Karishal Asanov a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate release. AI is also concerned about his health: he suffers from hypertension and has allegedly not received adequate medical treatment in detention.
