Kazakhstan - January 2025

Police raided the Almaty home of humorist Temirlan Yensebek on 17 January, apparently as part of an investigation into a song published on his satirical Instagram channel, QazNews24, in April 2024. Yensebek is charged with inciting ethnic hatred and faces up to seven years in jail, and observers and rights activists suggest the spurious nature of the charges indicates the government is primarily interested in dissuading critical speech – Yensebek frequently makes light of the country’s political leaders. The song in question mocked a Russian TV presenter who made unfounded and widely ridiculed claims that Kazakhstan was oppressing Russian-speaking Kazakhs. Public support for Yensebek has also been strictly punished, with several activists holding separate, legal one-person protests arrested and sentenced to weeks of detention or fines. Yensebek is currently serving two months of pre-trial detention.

Sources: Eurasianet, Factcheck.kz, Havli

A Constitutional Court ruling on 21 January provided a small expansion of the freedom of association while otherwise disappointing petitioners’ hopes of overturning a law which grants local authorities broad powers to refuse permits for peaceful assemblies. The Court held the law ”On the procedure for organizing and holding peaceful assemblies” to be constitutional, but that akimats (regional administrations) cannot refuse a permit without providing a proposal for an alternative time and location at which the assembly can be held. The ruling goes into immediate effect across the country.

Sources: Radio Azattyq, Kursiv