Bolat Atabaev
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Bolat Atabaev | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 May 1952 |
| Died | 28 July 2021 (aged 69)[1] |
| Occupations | Theater and film director |
| Awards | Goethe Medal (2012) |
Bolat Atabaev (15 May 1952 – 28 July 2021) was a Kazakhstani theater director who in 2012 was charged with "inciting social discord" for his role in the 2011 Mangystau riots.[2] Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience.[3] He was released on 3 July 2012.[4]
In May 2011, oil workers in the city of Zhanaozen in Kazakhstan's Mangystau Province began striking. Atabaev joined the workers and worked to communicate their demands to authorities.[3]
On 16–17 December 2011, the region saw a series of riots in which striking oil workers clashed with state security forces. At least 15 civilians were killed and 100 wounded by police shootings.[5]
Atabaev publicly protested the use of lethal force against the protesters.[3] In early 2012, he joined a public commission founded by activists to investigate the violence.[6] In March, he also staged a play in Almaty which dealt with the Zhanaozen events indirectly.[2] Titled Avalanche, the play showed daily life in a mountain village in which villagers must obey every order of their elders in order to avoid actions which might trigger a deadly avalanche. After the elders order a pregnant woman to be buried alive, however, the villagers realize the threat of avalanche was manufactured by the elders to maintain control, and they rebel. All proceeds from the play were donated to the families of those who died in the Zhanaozen shootings.[7]
