MONITORING OF POLITICAL PERSECUTION IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN from 1 to February 28, 2025

February 1, Almaty, International Foundation for the Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz” expresses serious concern about the attack on the journalist Ulysmedia.kz A. Kutubaeva, which has taken place on January 30, 2025 in the building of the Interdistrict Criminal Court of Astana[1].

February 3, Almaty, the activists M. Kochneva and I. Vorontsov launched a campaign in defense of T. Yensebek, who has been detained for the past two months in Institution No. 72 under Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The supporters of the activist consider his prosecution to be politically motivated: his public in social networks brought up many issues, including the events of January 2022, which the Kazakh authorities are trying to silence[2].

February 3, Akmola region, Granitniy village, Institution No. 7: lawyer M. Doskaraev visited A. Syzdykov, Article 297, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 5 years’ imprisonment. The lawyer informed about violations of rights of convicts: 750 people are held in a colony designed for 600 people. Their food is terrible, meat and eggs, which are supposed to be given to the prisoners, are not given to them. In the short term, the lawyer will file a complaint with the Supreme Court to seek the release of the prisoners[3].

February 3, “Kazakh authorities should immediately withdraw criminal charges against QazNews24 author T. Yensebek, Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 2 months’ detention”, Human Rights Watch said[4].

February 3, Astana, pre-trial detention center, human rights defender B. Toregozhina visited a political prisoner T. Danebaev, Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 3 years’ imprisonment. B. Toregozhina is his representative in court. On February 4, in the city of Kokshetau, the court will hear the case of T. Danebaev on torture in the Atbasar colony[5].

February 3, Taraz, The City Court appointed to conduct a forensic psychological and philological expertise in response to a lawsuit filed by a Taraz resident against the administrator of the Instagram-public Taraznews.kz. The experts should identify whether the publication contains negative information about the plaintiff, what specific statements may have a defamatory nature and what is their semantic content [6].

February 3, Uralsk, more than a hundred residents of the Zachaganskiy garden community blocked the road leading from the city to the bridge in Podstepnoye village of Terekta district. They blocked the traffic not only for cars, but also for trucks. In this way, the residents tried to get the electricity switched on, which is not available at the moment[7].

February 3, Almaty, journalist R. Biketov (Kazymbetov) was released after 15 days of arrest under Article 488, Part 6 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He was arrested on January 19 for holding a single picket in support of T. Yensebek [8].

February 3, Atyrau, Nurzhamal Tazhgaliyeva, the ex-wife of Atyrau region maslikhat deputy A. Erekeshov, wrote an open letter to President K. Tokayev complaining of systematic beatings by her ex-spouse. The Atyrau Police Department informed that an investigation is being conducted at the moment[9].

February 4, Almaty, journalist D. Matveeva was denied permission by the city Akimat to hold pickets in support of activist T. Yensebek, who is in custody as a suspect under Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the RK. Akimat rejected seven submitted notifications[10].

February 4, Almaty, A. Zhapisheva, Article 488, Part 7 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK, was released from the special detention center after 15 days of administrative arrest for holding a solitary picket on January 20 in support of T. Yensebek[11].

February 4, Turkestan region, Kentau city, there was a trial on the case of 28-year-old Valikhan Ruzakhunov, accused under Article 256 of the Criminal Code of the RK. He was charged with sending his “mentor” some “extremist” video, which was not included in the list of materials banned for distribution[12].

February 4, East Kazakhstan region, residents of Maraldy village came to Astana to protest against the operation of the gold mining plant. They met with deputies and representatives of ministries[13].

On February 4, Uralsk, Alexandra Vasilyevna applied to the branch office of the Bureau for Human Rights in connection with theft of property, unlawful actions of the developer, illegal entry into the dwelling and further deprivation of housing through its demolition[14].

February 4, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), representing lawyers and law societies from 46 countries appealed to Mr. K.Tokayev. CCBE expressed its concern about the criminal proceedings and prosecution of lawyer Zh. Urazbakhova and her colleague under Article 423 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan[15].

February 4, Astana, A. Altynbekova, secretary of the unregistered party “Yel Tiregi”, said that it was the 30th time that they came to the Ministry of Justice to submit documents for registration. The lawyer of the party, N. Ermakhanov, noted that the party was not registered despite numerous attempts[16].

February 5, Almaty, Saya Yesengeldy, widow of 32-year-old E. Sydykbayev, who was killed in the events of January 2022, died in a traffic accident. Left without a husband, S. Yesengeldy worked as a delivery driver during the day and a taxi driver at night to support her four children. The Akimat promised her an apartment for her dead husband. But she never received the promised apartment[17].

Astana, February 5 — The government should conduct audits and publish reports on the financing of Kazakhstani companies by foreign organizations, Majilis deputy M. Magerramov has said. He also called for a bill that would ensure the safety of children from “harmful sponsorship projects” such as USAID[18].

February 5, Astana, Majilis deputy A. Kuspan said: “Criminal liability is introduced for stalking, we will not immediately include it in the category of serious and especially serious crimes, this norm is introduced in order to prevent serious and especially serious crimes”[19].

February 6, Almaty, information about 22 political prisoners in Kazakhstan. The information is provided by the Human Rights Foundation “Ar.Rukh.Khak”. The information is taken from public sources[20].

February 6, Almaty, A. Daniyarov, an activist, was illegally detained without a summons prior to the meeting of the Akim of Almaty with the residents of the city for the purpose of preventing the activist from meeting with the Akim[21].

February 7, Almaty, the military court of Almaty garrison passed a verdict on the case of death of amateur archeologist E.Zhagiparov and A.Kapsalanov, who were shot during the January events on the Republic Square in 2022. A.Aubakirov was found guilty under Article 451 of the Criminal Code of the RK and sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment[22].

February 7, Stepnogorsk, Institution No. 4, lawyer M. Doskaraev met with M. Zhylanbaev, Aticles 258, 405 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 7 years of imprisonment. In order to protect his rights, M. Zhylanbaev went on hunger strike 5 times in 2024. Altogether his hunger strike lasted 141 days, the last one ended on January 22, 2025. Now he is regaining his strength and health after the last hunger strike[23].

February 7, in Stepnogorsk, Institution No. 4, lawyer M. Doskaraev also visited A. Suyubaev, Article 297, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 10 years’ imprisonment. The administration of Institution No. 4 violates the rights of the activist by refusing to allow his friends and supporters to visit him and give him packages, citing the fact that persons other than relatives are allegedly not allowed to visit prisoners, although it is allowed by law. Asanali’s relatives live in another city and cannot visit him often[24].

February 7, MediaNet and Factcheck.kz called for an immediate halt to the prosecution of T. Yensebek under Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as his detention is unjustified and politically motivated. Pressure on journalists and civil society activists threatens freedom of expression and human rights in Kazakhstan[25].

February 7, Astana, the court of Kazakhstan refused to clarify the decision on the suit in favor of relatives of the head of the prosecutor’s office of the Yesil district of Astana E. Tokbayev. “To refuse to satisfy the application of LLP ‘MIA ‘KAZTAG’ to explain the decisions of the Judicial Board for civil cases of the Court of Astana on this case”, — stated in the definition of the court[26].

February 7, Almaty, Overview of the situation in Kazakhstan with the right to freedom of expression, receiving and disseminating information from January 31 to February 7, 2025. The monitoring is prepared by the Adil Soz Foundation; information has been taken from public sources[27][28].

February 7, Astana, February 7, the Committee of State Revenue Ministry of Finance plans to update the register of persons financed from foreign sources by March 20, 2025, by including data for the 2nd half of last year[29].

February 7, Petropavlovsk, bloggers Robert Podlasov and Sergey Sayko, Article 194, Part 2, p.2 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 7 years of imprisonment, who were earlier acquitted by the jury for lack of evidence, this time were taken into custody in the courtroom. According to the prosecution, since 2022 the bloggers published in social networks the results of their raids on retail outlets, showing expired products, throwing complaints to the service of state epidemiological supervision and initiating inspections[30].

February 7, Aktobe, the military court of the Aktobe garrison sentenced Sergeant Kerimov under Article 451 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (abuse of authority) to 2 years of restriction of liberty and 100 hours of forced labor per year. According to the case materials, he forced two conscripts to eat cigarette butts and also beat one of them[31].

February 7, Semey city, Institution No. 19, Altayev N., Article 366 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 10 years of imprisonment. It became known that a political prisoner, the leader of the unregistered party “El Tiregi” was unexpectedly escorted from the colony in Semey. He was taken away in a hurry, alone, without informing his family and without any explanation. It remains unknown where he was taken[32].

February 8, Taraz, volunteers of PF “Fund for the Protection of Homeless Animals ‘Aktos’ “have found evidence of mass murder of captured dogs. The bodies of the animals, according to their version, were found in animal graves in Taraz and nearby areas. In the end, the day before 20 people went on an unauthorized protest in front of the building of the Akimat of the Zhambyl region[33].

February 9, Almaty, the artist A. Akhmedyarov was arrested by police during the action “Kaida?” (Where?) dedicated to the problem of a single time zone. He was summoned to the court for violation of Article 488, Part 7 and Article 667, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK. The trial will take place on February 11th at 10 o’clock in the building of Medeu district police department on February 11 at 10 o’clock[34].

February 10, London (UK), The International Organization for the Protection of Freedom of Speech “Article 19” released a statement in support of T. Yensebek, who was arrested for 2 months: «Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan does not meet international standards of freedom of expression and should be abolished». «Article 19 recalls that international law protects specific individuals, not abstract concepts like religion or belief[35].

February 10, Geneva, Switzerland, Representatives of countries in the UN Human Rights Council made 294 recommendations to Kazakhstan following a report from Kazakhstan on how it is doing in meeting its human rights obligations[36].

February 11, Transparency International released the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2024. Kazakhstan is ranked 88 out of 180. The country scored one point more than last year (40 against 39 in 2023). This means that the country remains in the category of countries with high levels of corruption[37].

February 11, Taraz, at a press conference, the relatives of those sentenced in the case of “Creation of an Organized Criminal Group” did not agree with the court’s decision and claimed that “after the events in Taraz in January, the local authorities called on the relatives to find the «missing» weapons and later they went to prison”[38].

February 11, a new petition appeared on the e-Petition.kz portal. It’s author demands the closure of the USAID office in Kazakhstan, as well as a ban on LGBT organizations and their funding. The petition is addressed to the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The author of the petition is public activist Bagila Baltabaeva[39].

February 11, Semey , the Court No. 2 considered the appeal and refused to commute the sentence of the former policeman A. Miradilov, Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 5 years of imprisonment. In the case of Zh. Anafiyayev, who died of torture in a temporary detention facility in Almaty after the events of January 2022[40].

February 11, Astana, the court considered the private complaint of A. Ilyashev on the definition of the Court of Civil Cases of Astana in the proceedings, which refused to consider his claim for recognition of Decrees of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 716, 717, dated 10.12.2010 are inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Ruling of the court: “Leave unchanged the definition of the Interdistrict Court on civil cases of Astana from December 18, 2024”[41].

February 11, Kostanay, S. Zinchenko, Article 73-3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Part 2. The regional court rejected the appeal of S. Zinchenko against the decision of the Kostanay city court of November 28, 2024[42].

February 12, Astana, I. Smirnova, deputy of the Majilis, proposed to adopt the law “on foreign agents” to “revise the status of a number of non-governmental organizations” that receive funding from abroad[43].

February 12, Kokshetau, the criminal court with the participation of the jury acquitted all 12 employees of the Atbasar colony who were charged under Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the case of torture of political prisoner T.Danebaev and other prisoners[44].

February 12, Semey, Institution No. 17, N. Altaev, Article 366 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 10 years of imprisonment. The political prisoner was transferred from Institution No. 17 in Semey to Institution No. 62 in Zhezkazgan. It is not known why the prisoner was transferred[45].

February 13, Astana, Institution No. 64, T. Danebaev, Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 3 years of imprisonment. A detained activist, recognized as a victim of torture, went on hunger strike in protest against the acquittal of the former workers of the colony in the city of Atbasar[46].

February 13, Almaty, in the National Center for Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials

RK was organized a primary trade union of employees of the Republican Public Association «Industrial Trade Union of Employees of State Institutions and Public Services». The establishment of an independent trade union was again subject to pressure from the employer. Employees of the organization appealed to their trade union, complaining about facts of extortion in the workplace[47].

February 13, Pavlodar region, the prosecutor’s office of the city of Aksu identified facts of cruel treatment of elderly wards of one of the boarding houses that is financed from the local budget. Pre-trial investigation under Article 110, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the RK was opened[48].

February 13, in Almaty, a group of women, among them B. Baltabaeva, broke into the hotel during a coffee break, where a training of the feminist organization Feminita was held, and thwarted it, and its organizers G. Serzhan and Zh. Sekerbaeva were detained by the police and taken to the police for investigation[49].

February 14, Astana, Institution No. 64, T.Danebaev, Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 3 years of imprisonment. In prison, the political prisoner is subjected to pressure for having published a video in which he declared a hunger strike and expressed his indignation at the acquittal of the former employees of the Colony in the case of torturing[50].

February 14, Astana, the Public Initiative against the Unified Time Zone, despite the resistance of the authorities, held a “round table” in Astana — closer to the center of decision-making. At this meeting, a resolution on the time change was adopted. It will be sent to the country’s leadership [51].

February 14, East Kazakhstan region, Kurchum district court, E. Keneshpayev. The court agreed with the arguments of the defense and dismissed the case under Article 667 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK for lack of corpus delicti, but sentenced E.Keneshpayev to 15 days of arrest under Article 434, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK for disorderly conduct during his detention[52].

February 14, Almaty, Overview of the situation in Kazakhstan with the right to freedom of expression, receiving and disseminating information from February 6 to February 14, 2025. The monitoring is prepared by the Adil Soz Foundation; information has been taken from public sources[53][54].

February 14, the international human rights organization Amnesty International called the prosecution of T. Yensebek, author of the public Qaznews24, “politically motivated” and a reflection of the “large-scale crackdown on civil society” in Kazakhstan[55].

February 14, Ust-Kamenogorsk, the organizers of the rally reached an agreement with the Akimat to hold the rally on 28 February, which was timed to coincide with 1 March, when the transition to a single time zone came into force in Kazakhstan. This was achieved after a lengthy legal battle to obtain permission to hold the rally in protest at the time change[56].

February 14, Atyrau, the city of Akimat did not give permission to the activist M. Bokay to hold a rally in the Isatay and Makhambet squares and in other places, as there were already planned events to be held there[57].

February 15 Almaty, Akylbek Muratbay (Muratov), the leader of the Karakalpak diaspora in Kazakhstan, was released from a detention center in Almaty, where he had been held for 12 months under extradition arrest. The Kazakh authorities did not extradite Muratbai, as well as several other Karakalpaks, to Uzbekistan, which had requested their extradition[58].

February 15, Kokshetau, Akmola regional prosecutor’s office protested against the acquittal of 12 former employees of the colony in Atbasar. On February 12, 2025, the jury found the former employees of the colony 166/4 not guilty in the torture case[59].

February 15, the Kazakh NGO Coalition Against Torture expressed its “grave concern” over the acquittal of the former employees of the EC-166/4 colony in Atbasar. This was the reaction of human rights activists to the result of the trial in the Akmola region, where on February 12, 2025 the court acquitted the former staff of the colony in the case of torture[60].

February 15, Mangistau region, Mangistau village, police officers came to U. Turdieva’s house in order to make a report under Article 434 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK (“minor hooliganism”). The reason for this was a knowingly false denunciation by M.M.Dalabaev, a dentist of “Munaila district polyclinic”[61].

February 16, Karaganda, Gulzhan Kerimova addressed President K. Tokayev with a request to take personal control over the case of her son Yeskendir, who, according to her, was arrested under a fabricated scenario. The woman says that she has been seeking justice for a year in vain, but the prosecutor’s office has been inactive[62].

17 February, Almaty, N. Batyrkhanov and M. Kayinbayev, Article 488, Part 7 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK. The court arrested the activists for 15 days on the charge of “participation in an unauthorized rally”. N. Batyrkhanov demanded to eliminate unemployment, to control the rise of prices, to give dividends to the inhabitants of the oil regions from the natural wealth of the people pumped out there, to increase child allowances and to increase wages in all spheres by 100 percent[63].

February 17, Almaty, The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil soz” hopes that the Supreme Court will release MIA KazTAG from the obligation to remove and refute “‘that I don’t know what‘’ and restore the constitutional principle of equality of all before the law and the court in Kazakhstan[64].

February 17, “Mediazona. Central Asia” will be temporarily unable to report on corrupt officials, arbitrary behavior of law enforcers and other problems of our countries. We are forced to suspend the publication of materials. We are grateful to all who read and supported us. This is sad news, but we are not saying goodbye forever and hope to return soon[65].

February 18, Ust-Kamenogorsk, three deputies of Maslikhat from Zaisan district, who were going to come to the meeting on appointment of Akim of East Kazakhstan region, were detained by unknown persons and forcibly taken to police. The deputy T.Kurmangaliev together with his colleagues A.Smagulov and B.Samarkanov could not take part in the meeting on appointment of the Akim of the East Kazakhstan region[66].

February 18, Ust-Kamenogorsk, at the trial on the complaint of public activists to the Akimat on the conditions of holding a rally against the transfer of hours, it was found out that the city administration has withdrawn its own approval of the action, which was earlier issued for February 28, 2025[67].

February 19, Astana, M. Magerramov, a deputy of the Majilis, made a statement in the parliament to urge law enforcement agencies to take action against the negative reaction to his colleague I. Smirnova[68].

February 19, Almaty, G.Serzhan, article 489, Part 9 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK: after holding an event on a legal topic, the court brought to responsibility and imposed a fine of 3932 tenge on an activist of Feminita movement[69].

February 20, Almaty, Almalinsk district court again postponed the start of the main trial in the criminal case under Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the RK against T. Yensebek (Qaznews24), arrested for 2 months[70].

February 20, Almaty, Human rights activist T. Chernobil: “Authorities should drop politically motivated charges against T. Yensebek (Qaznews24)”. The activist was charged under Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the RK. He has been detained for 2 months and is being held in Institution No. 72[71].

February 20, Astana, a human rights conference was checked for its coordination with the local Akimat according to the Law “On Peaceful Assembly”. Such inspections have become a common thing in our country, but there is a piquant moment in this case, which consists in the composition of the participants of the event[72].

February 20, Almaty, Overview of the situation in Kazakhstan with the right to freedom of expression, receiving and disseminating information from February 13 to February 20, 2025. The monitoring is prepared by the Adil Soz Foundation; information has been taken from public sources[73][74].

February 20, Almaty, a group of residents of Almaty who have suffered from the actions of the city authorities and from fraudulent schemes are going to talk about their vicissitudes in the search for the truth in the law enforcement system. According to them, the police authorities are investigating their claims, while the prosecutor’s office is trying to slow down these cases in every possible way[75].

February 20, Kostanay, the editorial office of “Nash Kostanay” began to receive messages from speakers and organizations that a man who introduced himself as a journalist of “Nash Kostanay” Damir Yeldaev was trying to get in touch with them. Pretending to be a correspondent, he tried to arrange an interview with them. Our readers even called the editorial office and asked to be connected with the journalist D. Yeldaev. We would like to officially inform you that we do not have a journalist with such a name[76].

February 20, Almaty, teacher M. Barkazatkyzy, who had been working for 25 years at the secondary school No. 115 named after D. Babayev, was dismissed for making statements in the media and social networks about the disorder in the education system[77].

February 21, Zhambyl region, an official ran away from bloggers and hid in the toilet. The official was Serik Dabyltaev, head of the Land Cadastre Department and head of the “Government for Citizens” in the Merken district[78].

February 21, Zhanaozen city, Zh. Turganbaev, Article 434, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK, arrest for 5 days. The case on administrative offense against him was initiated after his appeal to the Akimat with a request for employment. He declared that he would start a hunger strike because he was “tired of hardships and high prices”[79].

February 21, Almaty, Zh. Sekerbayeva, Article 489, Part 9 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK. On the charge of “leading an unregistered public association”, the court fined the Feminita activist 393200 tenge (about 790 dollars)[80].

February 21, Kostanay Region, Karabalyk Village, Mirshat Sarsembayev, a well-known blogger, and his wife were detained at his parents’ home in Kostanay after consulting with a lawyer and following an illegal search[81].

February 21, Uralsk, Institution No. 28: Footage from Institution No. 28 (Strict Regime Colony) is circulated by messengers. The footage shows the prisoners talking about the unsatisfactory conditions of their detention. In their words, they are being held in cramped cells that are designed for two people, but there are five people living in each of them[82].

February 21, Astana, Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee refused to investigate “information attacks” on Majilis deputies who spoke out against LGBT[83].

February 22, Almaty, Kazakh human rights activists have prepared a new National Human Rights Action Plan. Logically, it could become a complementary replacement for President K. Tokayev’s plan, which is nearing completion[84].

February 22, Shymkent, the police department confirmed that a criminal case has been opened against journalist Moldir Nurman on the fact of disseminating deliberately false information. As part of the investigation, a forensic psychological and philological examination was appointed.[85].

February 22, Semey, a cruel video of a teenager being humiliated and beaten appeared on social networks. In the video footage, he is subjected not only to verbal and physical humiliation, but also brutally beaten with feet, while filming everything on a video camera. A preliminary investigation has been opened against the minors[86].

February 24, Aktau, three youths attacked a schoolboy in the 11th microdistrict and beat him with brass knuckles. The victim was hospitalized with bruises and concussion. The investigator opened a case under Article 108 of the Criminal Code of the RK (“Light bodily injury”)[87].

February 24, Almaty, several dozen people publicly expressed solidarity with Ukraine, condemned the Russian aggressors and commemorated the victims of this terrible war. Between the first and second laying of flowers at the monument to T. Shevchenko, the flowers brought in the morning were secretly removed from the pedestal, and a police bus stood near the place of events all day long[88].

February 24, Almaty, Institution No. 72: The court again extended the detention of 5 activists, N. Zhaulibayev, Zh. Kazakbay, F. Syzdykov, N. Temirgaliyev and A. Mubarakov, who were arrested before the referendum and accused of coup. They remain under arrest for the 6th month. The activists are charged with “attempting to organize mass unrest”[89].

February 24, Almaty, the court fined Russian citizen T.Morozov 196600 tenge (about 390 dollars), finding him guilty of violating Article 488, Part 9 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK (actions committed by foreigners). Grounds: T. Morozov went on a solitary picket on the Republic Square with a poster “Ukraine will win, Russia will be free”[90].

February 24, Aktobe, the activists G. Farhad and G. Bekesheva came to lay flowers at the Eternal Flame in connection with the 3rd anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Police officers approached them and started videotaping them, and an employee of Akimat said that the activists’ actions were in violation of the law.[91].

February 25, the Almaty court dismissed the appeal of Afghan citizen A. Sodaba, who requested that the refusal of the Kazakh authorities to grant her refugee status be recognized as unlawful. The court found that the Taliban had not prevented her from leaving the country and that she had not been persecuted[92].

February 25, Almaty, K. Zhamankulova, director of the Adil Soz Foundation, said she was concerned about the absence of the American ambassador to Kazakhstan, who defiantly resigned on the day of the inauguration of the new president, D. Trump. This could have an impact on important political and economic issues[93].

February 25, Astana, the regular meeting of the Coordination Council was held at the Prosecutor General’s Office in Astana, where the issues of the state of legality and the rule of law in the penal system of the country were discussed. Chief Prosecutor B. Asylov reported that in the colonies continuous video surveillance was introduced (40 thousand video cameras), 600 electronic terminals for direct submission of appeals by convicts were installed. Chief Prosecutor B. Asylov reported that in the colonies continuous video surveillance was introduced (40 thousand video cameras), 600 electronic terminals for direct submission of appeals by convicts were installed. The number of signals of torture was reduced fivefold by the complex of taken measures[94].

February 25, Almaty, the Bureau for Human Rights held a round table on “Journalists and the Law” in connection with the increasing pressure on the media. For example, restrictions on the right of journalists to attend government and parliamentary briefings, and a court ruling against the KazTAG agency[95].

February 25, Almaty, in the Bostandyk District Court, the main trial on the civil case against the President of PF “Nemolchi.kz” D. Smailova for the protection of honor and dignity began[96].

February 26, Astana, the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan considered the appeal of a citizen to verify the norms of legislation establishing requirements for the registration of missionaries, and recognized them as consistent with the Constitution [97].

February 26, Astana, According to the World Press Freedom Index, since 2005 Kazakhstan has fallen from 112th to 142nd place in the ranking of freedom of the press. The lowest ranking was in 2010. The country was ranked 162nd[98].

February 26, Astana, a lawsuit on forced liquidation of the fund “Biz Birgemiz Kazakstan 2030” of Perizat Kairat was filed with the Economic Court. The lawsuit is based on a letter from the Agency for Financial Monitoring on irrecoverable violations of legislation committed during the creation of the fund. [99].

February 26, Almaty, Kazakh ecologist and microbiologist Olzhas Duisen has announced his arrest and appealed to President K. Tokayev for support on the grounds that the case against him is a fabrication. The video message was recorded by Duisen himself prior to his arrest by police officers. [100].

February 26, Karaganda region, Osakarov district, Saryozek village, Bolatbek Zeynelkhan. More than 20 policemen broke into his house. They searched the whole house. Then they took Bolatbek to Karaganda city, took his wife’s laptop, phone and money for his support of D. Mukhamedkarim during the trial in 2024.[101].

February 25, Aktobe, court No.3. The trial on the claim of M. Dauylov on the recognition as illegal the resolution of Aktobe Akimat from March 29, 2024 “on the emergency of local scale in terms of its unreasonable prolongation”. Decision of the court: to refuse to satisfy the petition of M. Dauylov to the Akim of the city of Aktobe. The case is not subject to consideration in the order of civil proceedings[102].

February 26, Astana, Medina Maysar, appeal against the decision of the court of first instance from 17.12.24 on challenging the order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education on the distribution of grants to applicants from the regions affected by floods. The court rejected the appeal[103].

February 27, Almaty, Almalinskiy district, trial on the criminal case against T. Yensebek (Qaznews24), Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the RK, who was arrested for 2 months. The judge granted the petition of prosecutor A. Zhuaspayeva to return the case to the stage of preliminary hearings and further consideration of the case in the court of Nauryzbay district at the place where the crime was committed [104].

February 27, Uralsk, Institution No. 27, A. Utepov, Article 190, Part 3, Article 367, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the RK, 7 years of imprisonment. The court has refused to replace the sentence with a more lenient form of punishment. The public activist reported that he has served part of the sentence, has the 2nd positive behavior, has a job, participates in all activities and is not socially dangerous[105].

February 27, the Kurchum district court of the East Kazakhstan region completed consideration of the criminal case against S. Bayandinova, U. Shakarbaeva, K. Sansyzbayeva, D. Abishekova, Z. Ordataeva under Article 131, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the RK. The victim Karagyzov claimed that the publication in the WhatsApp group”Maraldy Ecology” about his personality caused damage to his honor, dignity and business reputation. Due to the absence of a criminal offense in the actions of the defendants, the court rendered a verdict of acquittal[106].

February 27, Almaty, G. Serzhan, Article 489, Part 9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RK. The Court of Administrative Offences rejected the appeal and confirmed the fine for the leadership of an unregistered association[107].

February 28, in Almaty, D. Litvin, the chairman of the trade union, received an official notice from A. Nurgaliyev, the general director of the enterprise, about the possible reduction of his position. The pressure on the independent trade union in the National Center for Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Republican State Enterprise “NC CPMS RK”) does not decrease.[108].

February 28, Kostanay, the regional court considered the prosecutor’s appeal to change the measure of restraint of M. Sarsenbaev, who is suspected of committing a particularly serious crime under Article 194, Part 4, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code of the RK. The panel has granted the petition of the prosecutor and has imposed a measure of restraint in the form of arrest for a period of 2 months[109] [110].

February 28, Almaty, Zh. Sekerbaeva, Article 488, Part 7 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the RK. The court found Zh. Sekerbaeva guilty and sentenced her to arrest for 10 days. Grounds: participation in the march “For Saltanat”, which was held on May 13, 2024”[111].

February 28, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Akimat agreed to hold a march against the transition to a single time zone on March 14, 2025 from 18.05-19.30 hours, informed public activist L. Kartashov. Activists have applied to the court for permission and continue to demand that they also be allowed to hold a solitary picket and rally[112].

February 28, The International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) urges the EU to draw attention to the deteriorating human rights situation and restrictions on civil liberties in the region ahead of a meeting between the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas and the foreign ministers of Central Asian countries. The IPHR recalls that a member of parliament in Kazakhstan has recently proposed the adoption of a law on “foreign agents”[113].

February 28, Astana, National Security Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture and Information failed to provide examples of “hostile information” from the People’s Party of Kazakhstan[114].

[1] https://adilsoz.kz/news/8589-zayavlenie-mezhdunarodnogo-fonda-zaschity-svobody-slova-adil-soz-.html

[2] https://rus.azattyq.org/a/russkie-v-kazahstane-vystupili-v-zaschitu-avtora-satiricheskogo-pablika-qaznews24-aktsiyu-organizovala-devushka-zhurnalista/33300954.html

[3] https://www.facebook.com/groups/ActivistsNotExtremists/posts/4046080669044519/

[4] https://kaztag.kz/ru/news/vlasti-dolzhny-nemedlenno-snyat-ugolovnye-obvineniya-vydvinutye-protiv-temirlana-ensebeka-human-righ

[5] https://www.facebook.com/reel/1720929421972909

[6]https://www.facebook.com/taraznews.kz/posts/pfbid0SNgpfekpSLDJsrjsP2NS5JMY9JwU9yTHDqsrYexuGVMXMcoAbeCaKZWEMEhZ26BSl

[7] https://mgorod.kz/news/bolee-sotni-zhitelej-sadovogo-obshchestva-perekryli-dorogu-v-uralske

[8] https://rus.azattyq.org/a/zhurnalist-provedshiy-piket-v-podderzhku-aktivista-ensebeka-vyshel-na-svobodu-posle-15-sutok-aresta/33301461.html

[9] https://t.me/halyqstan/10253

[10] https://rus.azattyq.org/a/akimat-almaty-otkazal-zhurnalistke-diane-matveevoy-v-provedenii-piketa-ona-podavala-neskolko-uvedomleniy/33303015.html

[11] https://rus.azattyq.org/a/aktivistka-dvizheniya-oyan-qazaqstan-asem-zhapisheva-vyshla-iz-pod-aresta-ee-zaderzhali-posle-piketa/33302916.html

[12] https://bureau.kz/novosti/v-spiskah-ne-znachatsya-2/