Kazakhstan: Activists Convicted Amidst Growing Human Rights Concerns

Five Kazakh activists were sentenced to between five and five-and-a-half years in prison on September 8 after a trial in an Almaty courtroom. They were found guilty of advocating for the violent seizure of power, organizing mass unrest against authorities, and attempting to seize the presidential residence, known as Akorda. Several of the convicted have a history of activism and have participated in civil protests. The case, which was held behind closed doors, has drawn attention from activists and national human rights organizations, who are criticizing the verdict and highlighting similar past cases targeting activists. These organizations argue that such court cases are part of a strategy by the Kazakh government to control opposition. Two of the defendants, Kaisar Ozbek and Talgat Ashirov, were also convicted of illegally acquiring and storing explosives in relation to the unrest. The state prosecutor had originally requested eight-year prison sentences for each of the defendants. When the trial began in February, all five men pleaded not guilty to all charges. Lawyers representing two of the defendants stated that their clients were ordinary people coerced into committing crimes. Zhanara Balgabaeva, a lawyer for one of the defendants, claimed that security forces used provocateurs who pretended to share the activists' views and then provoked them into committing crimes. She criticized the closed-door hearings, stating, "They [the courts] don’t want transparency. They want to quickly shut everyone down without any fuss." This case is part of a trend in Kazakhstan where activists are accused of attempting to incite mass unrest or directly seize power. At least 17 people have been imprisoned on such charges since 2024. The Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights and Rule of Law has questioned the neutrality of the country’s judicial system, suspecting that the cases are a tactic employed by the Kazakh authorities to silence political adversaries. The most well-known instance is often referred to as "the tractor case," where seven charged activists allegedly planned to drive a tractor into Akorda in 2022 to cause unrest and seize power. Another similar case involved five activists sentenced last year to four years of restricted freedom for allegedly attempting to organize mass unrest in connection with the 2024 referendum on the use of nuclear power. During interrogations related to this case, one defendant stated he was asked about intentions to seize control of Akorda. Similar to the recent case, these previous incidents also involved defendants of retirement age accused of planning mass unrest. Zhanara Balgabaeva, who has represented clients in all three mentioned cases, has previously criticized the way evidence was collected, pointing to some of it being acquired through provocations. "In the ‘tractor case,’ when we were defending our clients, we said that any actions carried out through provocations are not admissible as evidence. Now we are seeing the same thing," she stated in relation to the nuclear referendum case. With the recent verdict against five activists, Kazakhstan has now imprisoned activists for allegedly planning unrest for the third straight year, prompting lawyers and human rights organizations to call foul play. Whether their criticism will have any effect on the Kazakh judicial system going forward remains to be seen. Source: The Diplomat Indonesia