Authorities in the North Kazakhstan region said on April 18 that three members of a group called the People's Council in the regional capital, Petropavl, have been arrested on separatism charges and face up to seven years in prison if convicted. The group announced its creation in March, saying it promotes "our independence and sovereignty" and "the unbreakable territorial integrity of the sovereign Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic," Kazakhstan's former name when it was part of the Soviet Union. To read the original story of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
