ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kazakh authorities refused to release opposition activist Zhanbolat Mamai after he completed his 15-day term as they contemplate new charges, his lawyer and wife said.
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Mamai, the leader of the unregistered Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, was expected to be released on March 12, his wife, Inga Imanbai, told RFE/RL.
The activist was sentenced on February 25 for organizing an unsanctioned public event to commemorate the victims of the January anti-government protests around Kazakhstan that claimed the lives of at least 227 people.
Imanbai quoted her husband's lawyers as saying that Mamai may face charges of insulting law enforcement officers, distributing "false information," and participation in mass disorders during the deadly protests in January.
Mamai has been known for his harsh criticism of the nation's authoritarian government.
He has been trying to create the Democratic Party of Kazakhstan but claims he is being foiled by the government, which he says only permits loyal parties to be legally registered.
Kazakhstan has been run along an authoritarian line by former President Nursultan Nazarbaev and his successor, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, since gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
During their three-decade rule, several opposition figures have been killed, and many jailed or forced to flee the country.
