VZCZCXRO1522
RR RUEHAST
DE RUEHTA #2410/01 3440332
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090332Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4049
INFO RUEHAST/USOFFICE ALMATY 0957
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 6922

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002410 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
CA/OCS(JHUNTER) 
FRANKFURT FOR RCO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER IN LEGAL TROUBLE, BUT OK 
FOR NOW 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary. Peace Corps Volunteer Anthony Kavanaugh Sharp (02 
October 1982) may be charged after police caught him leaving a 
restricted mine complex with what they say were industrial 
explosives.  Mr. Sharp is not in custody but his movements are 
restricted.  A Consular Officer visited Mr. Sharp and met with 
police in Ridder, Kazakhstan. Subsequently the Charge and Conoff met 
with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials regarding the case.  If 
charged and convicted, Mr. Sharp could face up to five years in 
prison.  End Summary. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Police took Mr. Sharp into custody at about 2 a.m. on 
November 26th after they spotted him climbing a fence to leave a 
restricted zinc mining complex near Ridder, a town of about 60,000 
people in the mountains north of Oskemen (Ust Kamenogorsk) in 
northeastern Kazakhstan.  Mr. Sharp was carrying a bag, which he 
says belonged to a friend, containing what police describe as 
industrial explosives commonly used in mining.  In a subsequent 
search of Mr. Sharp's residence, police took several maps, his cell 
phone, camera, computer, a number of CD-ROMs and some hiking/outdoor 
gear. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Police questioned Mr. Sharp throughout most of Thanksgiving 
day, but released him that evening without charges.  Police did take 
Mr. Sharp's passport and he cannot leave Kazakhstan until the 
investigation, which could take up to two months, is complete. 
Police say they will likely charge Mr. Sharp under section 25.1 of 
the Kazakhstani legal code, illegal possession of firearms 
(explosives). If charged and convicted, Mr. Sharp faces a maximum of 
five years in prison. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Mr. Sharp says he went to the mining complex with his 
supervisor from the NGO where he was assigned to work as a Peace 
Corps Volunteer (PCV) and a friend of his supervisor's who was 
familiar with the mine.  According to Mr. Sharp, he had long been 
curious about the mine and quickly agreed when his supervisor 
suggested a visit.  While they were at the mine, he says his 
supervisor picked up several items and placed them in his bag.  Mr. 
Sharp says he did not know what the items were and that he only took 
the bag as he was getting ready to climb the fence to leave the 
mine. Police did not apprehend Mr. Sharp's supervisor or the third 
man. 
 
¶5. (SBU) A Consular Officer visited Mr. Sharp in Ridder on December 
3rd.  Mr. Sharp has been assigned to Ridder as a PCV for two years 
and has many local friends and knows the community well.  There is 
also a second PCV assigned to the town and, at the time of the 
conoff's visit, an additional PCV was in Ridder to provide moral 
support to Mr. Sharp.  The Peace Corps Safety and Security Officer 
has also visited Ridder.  Peace Corps has arranged for legal 
representation.  Mr. Sharp has no health issues and has not made any 
specific requests of the Embassy.  The Conoff has been in regular 
contact with Mr. Sharp's family in Oregon. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Consular Officer also met with the Ridder police 
investigator assigned to Mr. Sharp's case, the senior investigator, 
the Deputy Chief of Police and the Chief of Police.  They say the 
case file and all evidence, including the items taken from Mr. 
Sharp's residence, were sent to the Oskemen Ministry of Internal 
Affairs regional office for examination.  They are awaiting 
instructions from their superiors in Oskemen before taking further 
steps, but all the police officials said they expect Mr. Sharp will 
be charged.  The investigators both said they believed Mr. Sharp had 
been used by others, but that they did not know by whom or why, and 
that they did not think that Mr. Sharp's actions on November 
25th/26th were motivated by criminal intent.  The Chief of Police 
also mentioned that some of the maps found in Mr. Sharp's residence 
could possibly be considered military secrets (Mr. Sharp says they 
were Soviet-era topographical maps of the region purchased locally 
soon after he arrived). 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Charge and Conoff met with Talgat Kaliyev, the head of 
the MFA Americas Desk, and his consular assistant on December 4 to 
regarding the case.  Mr. Kaliyev was aware of the details of the 
case and said he believed it to be a serious matter.  He pointed out 
that Mr. Sharp was in a restricted area in the middle of the night 
and that markings on the maps found in his residence were of 
interest.  Mr. Kaliyev said that he was concerned that Mr. Sharp's 
explanation of his actions did not reflect his true intentions.  Mr. 
Kaliyev promised, however, to help resolve the matter as 
expeditiously as possible. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Mr. Kaliyev raised the cases of Asel (sic) Abdygapparova, 
currently serving a life sentence in Texas for capital murder, and 
Talapker Imanbayev.  The MFA stressed that this was not a "tit for 
tat" but that they simply wanted to see "what the possibility was" 
 
ASTANA 00002410  002 OF 002 
 
 
of Abdygapparova serving the remainder of her sentence in Kazakhstan 
and returning Imanbayev to serve time for a previous Kazakhstani 
fraud conviction.  Imanbayev received refugee status in the United 
States, but we understand that he is currently going through 
deportation procedures for fraudulently applying for that status. 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) The MFA agreed that it would be useful for the Peace Corps 
Country Director and an Embassy representative to meet with senior 
Ministry of Internal Affairs officials to discuss the Peace Corps 
mission and the contribution PCVs make to Kazakhstan.  We hope to 
schedule the meeting for December 9th or 10th. 
 
 
MILAS