Graham Watson, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, last September, human rights defender Vadim Kuramshin was arrested on his return from the OSCE Conference and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The following month, it was opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov, with whom my colleague Mr Donskis has spoken.

In December, the courts banned almost all independent media, and in February the Court of Appeal banned independent journalists from exercising their profession. What is worse is that they are now considering further changes to the legal system, with fines and prison terms foreseen for the creation of political parties, and incarceration for participation in illegal rallies.

The sky over Kazakhstan is darkening fast as it flouts its OSCE commitments. I hope that Baroness Ashton, on her frequent visits there, is raising these issues. If she is, would she report to this House on Kazakhstan’s reaction? And if she is not, would she at least send her new special representative for human rights to deal with it?