Rakhat against the Constitution

By Janibek BAYTIROV

His popularity after escape, Rakhat Aliev largely established by publicizing the wiretaps of phone talks of the number of high-ranked officials, particularly Baurzan Mukhamedzanov, former minister of Internal Affairs, and Vladimir Ni, former head of the department of presidential affairs. The epic of wiretap publications has begun from appearance of these records in October 2007.

There was a battle against publications of these wiretaps reprints in Kazakhstan. A few websites were locked, as of zonakz.net, kub.kz, spik.kz, and geo.kz. However, it stopped hardly anybody; new reprints of wiretaps were appeared on the internet, and all who was interested in politics, absorbedly discussed it. Finally, on 13 of November of 2008, Prosecutor-General’s Office officially stated, that for “publishing of illegal reprints of records of citizens phone talks” the newspapers will be punished until closing. In the same time it proved Rakhat Aliev’s implication to illegal wiretapping. “The court has reliable evidences that Aliev and organized criminal group have illegally acquired special technical means to record information from mobile and stationary devices and made illegal wiretapping and recording of communications”.

In his book “godfather-in-law”, Rakhat Aliev wouldn’t only stopped on wiretapping, but publicized records of his talks with the president, and also wrote little overview of the president’s private life – that he suppose to have a three wives, five daughters and a son. We wouldn’t discuss about how close it is to the reality. It is personal matters of Nursultan Nazarbayev.

However, it can be mentioned that wiretapping of phone talks without official permission, its publication, and more of that, publication of any intelligence about personal life of the president – it is obviously the crime.

The business is, the subject of privacy right, personal or family secret, secret of correspondence, telephone conversation and other messages, is guaranteed by the Constitution of Kazakhstan.

In 19th article of the Constitution it is clearly pointed:

“1. Everyone has the rights privacy, personal or family secret, and protection of their own honour and dignity.

2. Everyone has rights of personal deposits and savings privacy, correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraph and other messages. The restrictions of these rights is allowed only in cases and in order, directly pointed by the Law”.

These rights are protected with the Law, and there are relevant articles in criminal code of Kazakhstan: article 142 “violation of integrity of private life”, and article 143 “illegal violation of correspondence privacy, telephone conversations, postal, telegraph or other messages”.

Besides, the article 34 of the Constitution of Kazakhstan directly requires the citizen:

“Everyone is obligated to observe the Constitution and the Law of Republic of Kazakhstan, respect the rights, freedoms, honour and dignity of other persons”.

In our case, by organizing and publishing illegal wiretaps, Rakhat Aliev is definitely infringed the Constitution and the Law of Kazakhstan. The right of integrity of private life of the president of Kazakhstan was also infringed by him. As well as there are the reasons to believe, that the book of Rakhat Aliev contains knowingly false information, and because of that he turns up as the calumniator. It is too the crime, pursuant to article 129 of the Criminal Code.

It is recognized that Rakhat Aliev has very frequently came down to these crimes. His resign and escape took place on July of 2007, and as soon as October 2007 the first publications of wiretaps appeared on the internet. Every time Rakhat Aliev stated that he is illegally pursued, injured, but completely unaware himself that he committed and committing criminal offences and injuring the rights of those, which talks he listened in. This circumstance gives precise overview of Rakhat Aliev as the person, who even defends himself with clearly illegal and criminal methods.

Sadly, the law-enforcement bodies of Kazakhstan are too slowly reacted on wiretaps publications. They should been momentary, after first publications appearance, state that it is the criminal offence, and aware all mass-media about possible responsibility. Those who unwish to comply with it, would be the subject to punishment, prescribed by the Criminal Code. The crimes must be suppressed quickly and effectively.

It is hard to recognize the position of some journalists and editors of mass-media, who reprinted texts of wiretaps, and didn’t admit their guilt, explaining themselves by the reason, that Kazakhstani officials are violating the Law. It is the truth, which is turned inside out: say, if the state officials are violating the law, than we also will; and at all, as some journalists stated, “people should know the true face of the Power”.

Such logics would lead Kazakhstan until big disaster. You see, if such logics and stance on the Law would enforce, the same trick can be operated upon journalists themselves. There are the people that will listen in and publish phone talks of journalists, collect and publish intelligence of their private life, and then they will state that the journalists were violating the Law, and, at all, “people should know the true face of mass media. What can possibly those journalists, who already violated the Constitution and Criminal Code, can argue against it? It will start from less, than it will feel the taste. Who and how will protect journalists, then?

There is a good example of society, which has no law – Pal Pot Kampuchea. There the Khmer Rouge, thinking shortly, murdered all unlike them with sticks, knives, run over with bulldozers, exploded with bombs, buried and burned alive, throw to be eaten by crocodiles… If, for example, Sergey Duvanov wishes, that his political opponents some day would beat him by clubs to death, nailed his head, run over with dozer, let he continue to defend wiretaps publications. When you violating the law, it is only hard to start, and then you go by blazed trail.