LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Two Kazakh land rights activists who are due to go on trial over their involvement in public protests against land reforms in the Central Asian nation are facing unfounded criminal charges and should be released, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. In a rare climbdown following the protests, Nazarbayev in August deferred a plan to lease large areas of farmland to foreign investors for five years. He also set up a commission to review the land reforms and replaced the ministers for the economy and agriculture. Land sales to foreigners remain barred but the maximum term of lease to foreigners is extended to 25 years from 15 years. ; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change.

Source: The Star October 11, 2016 18:00 UTC