A dissident with nothing to say

摘要

Aslan sagutdinov had a hunch. The authorities in Kazakhstan are so intolerant of dissent, he reasoned, that it does not really matter what protesters write on their placards. Simply holding up a sign of any sort is considered subversive enough to merit arrest. After all, two democracy activists, Asya Tulesova and Beybaris Tolym-bekov, had been arrested in April for unfurling a banner at a marathon in Almaty, the financial capital, that read "You cannot run from the truth #forafairelection #Ihaveachoice". They were jailed for ten days for breaching rules on public assembly, even though the authorities insist that the presidential election on June 9th will be fair, and that people will have a choice.