On 17 September 2021, the trial continued (this was the 11th court hearing) in the politically motivated criminal case against thirteen civil activists from Almaty for allegedly “organisation and participation in an extremist organisation”.
Since the beginning of the trial on 27 July 2021, attorneys and activists have demanded the submission of a secret decision of the Yesil court dated 19 May 2020 banning the opposition movement “Koshe Partiyasy”, but neither the judge, nor the prosecutor, nor the investigator have provided this decision.
During the court hearing on 17 September 2021, the lawyers submitted a motion so that Judge #KASYMBEKOV Yernar attach to the case file copies of court decisions (without stamps) banning the “Koshe Partiyasy” and DCK movements, which the lawyers obtained from another political criminal case, as well as a ruling on the refusal to consider the activists’ appeal regarding the “Koshe Partiyasy” ban. The judge refused the lawyers’ motions because copies of the decision to ban “Koshe Partiyasy” and DCK and the ruling refusing to consider the activists’ appeal against the ban on “Koshe Partiyasy” were without stamps.
At the same time, the lawyers explained that these copies of decisions are from the files of another political criminal case (i.e. they were used as “evidence” in another case), while the ruling on the refusal to consider the activists’ appeal against the ban on “Koshe Partiyasy” was signed electronically (and has an official barcode from the court office’s database).
Meanwhile, as the activists stressed, the press release from the General Prosecutor’s Office about the existence of the decision of the Yesil court to ban “Koshe Partiyasy” has no stamp either. It is just a press release. Not a court decision.
The lawyer’s motion to declare inadmissible as “evidence” the press release of the General Prosecutor’s Office on the existence of the decision of the Yesil court to ban the “Koshe Partiyasy”, the judge did not consider immediately, but said that he would consider it only when the final court decision is made!
At the same time, the illegal searches of the activists’ homes, arbitrary detention in pre-trial detention facilities, and the criminal case itself are unfounded and illegal even formally, as the main document – the decision of the Yesil court banning the “Koshe Partiyasy” – is missing from the criminal case materials.
Since the materials of the political criminal case do not contain the main document (the decision of the Yesil court banning “Koshe Partiyasy” ), the lawyers requested that the judge close the criminal case. However, the judge did not do so, which also confirms the political motive behind the criminal prosecution.
Hasenov Daniyar
