Kazakhstan's Living Gulags
Crossing Continents
English - August 15, 2013 10:30 - 28 minutes - 26 MB - ★★★★★ - 69 ratingsNews Society & Culture Places & Travel Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Romania, Religion and Riches
Next Episode: Turkey's New Opposition
The Kazakh steppe was once home to the infamous Soviet forced labour camps which formed part of the Gulag. Today, the Gulag system is said to live on in Kazakhstan's jails where a growing prison population faces daily torture, humiliation and lawlessness. Despite its poor human rights record, many developed nations, including Britain, are rapidly strengthening relations with Kazakhstan. BBC Central Asia Correspondent Rayhan Demeytrie investigates why the Gulag violence persists and asks why the international community stays silent.
Producer: Nina Robinson.