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The\r\nInternational Foundation for the Protection of Freedom of Speech \"Adil\r\nSoz\" conducted a study of the situation with the right to freedom of\r\nexpression, receipt and dissemination of information in Kazakhstan in April\r\n2019.
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It reports:
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- Civil activists Asiya Tulesova and\r\nBeybarys Tolymbekov were arrested for 15 days for the poster “There is no\r\nescape from the truth. I have a choice\". Human rights activists consider\r\nthe detention and the court ruling to be illegal. An Almaty resident was also\r\nsubjected to administrative punishment for placing a poster in support of civil\r\nsociety activists saying “The people shall be the only source of governmental\r\npower”.
\r\nOn the\r\nmorning of April 21, during the marathon in Almaty, civil activists Asiya\r\nTulesova and Beybarys Tolymbekov placed a poster in the street saying “There is\r\nno escape from the truth. I have a choice\". They were detained by police\r\nand on the same day, court sentened them for 15 days of administrative\r\narrest for violating the procedure for\r\nholding peaceful assemblies.The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan,\r\nYerlan Turgumbayev, commenting on the detention, said that the activists\r\n\"obstructed the marathon.
\r\n\"On\r\nApril 22, the Almaty Police Department reported: people who wanted to take\r\npictures of the poster began to run out onto the roadway, thus creating an\r\nobstacle to the movement of the marathon participants: “a crush and panic could\r\noccur and lead to deplorable consequences.”
\r\nOn April 23,\r\nthree human rights organizations of Kazakhstan - the Charter for Human Rights,\r\nthe International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech \"Adil\r\nSoz\", the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law\r\n- criticized the explanations of the police: “a)“ People who wanted to to\r\nphotograph, thereby creating obstacles to the movement of the participants in\r\nthe marathon ”- it cannot be considered to be true, since it contradicts the\r\nvideo recoding of the marathon; b) “there could be a crush and panic and lead\r\nto deplorable consequences” - it cannot\r\nbe considered an evidence of the offense, since it is nothing more than unfounded assumptions; c) “on the part of the\r\noffenders, there was obvious disrespect for the participants of the marathon” -\r\nit cannot be considered in a judicial procedure, as they fall into the category\r\nof value judgments ”.
\r\nHuman rights\r\nactivists consider the detention and the court ruling to be contradicting the\r\nlaw. It is stated in the joint statement to Asanov, the chairman of the Supreme\r\nCourt of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and\r\nG. Nurdauletov, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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30-year-old Roman\r\nZakharov, who placed a poster in support of A. Tulesova and B. Tolymbekov\r\nsaying “The people shall be the only source of governmental power,” was detained early in the morning of April\r\n29.
\r\nAccording to the\r\nAlmaty Police Department, Zakharov was detained after a call to the operations\r\ncenter claiming that “an unknown man throws about paper, consumables and other\r\nitems at the intersection of Al-Farabi Avenue and Dostyk Street thereby disturbing public order.”
\r\nThe crew of the\r\ntraffic police reacted to the call. The man behaved defiantly and refused to\r\neliminate his offense, \"- the police statement said.
\r\nA resident of Almaty\r\nwas taken to the police station, where the police drew up an administrative\r\nprotocol, that was sent over to the court.
\r\nOn April 29, administrative court arrested R. Zakharov for\r\nfive days.
\r\nOn the same day, the\r\nappeals instance changed the decision of the administrative court, replacing\r\nfive days of arrest with an administrative fine.
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- On the eve of May 1, the Day of Unity of the\r\nPeople of Kazakhstan, the Prosecutor General\'s Office warned Kazakhstanis about\r\nresponsibility for participating in unauthorized rallies.
\r\nOn April 29, the\r\nProsecutor General’s Office on its website published an appeal to Kazakhstanis about\r\nresponsibility for participating in unsanctioned rallies.
\r\n“Calls for\r\nparticipation on May 1 in unauthorized rallies are disseminated in social\r\nnetworks and messengers. The General Prosecutor’s Office warns that if such\r\nactions are held, the actions of the participants will be qualified as a major breach of the\r\nlaw on the procedure for organizing and holding peaceful meetings and rallies,”\r\nreads the statement, signed by Deputy Prosecutor General Marat Akhmetzhanov.
\r\n“Responsibility under\r\nArticle 488 of the Code of Administrative Offenses comes for calls for such\r\nactions, organization, participation in them.
\r\nIf these actions cause\r\nsubstantial damage, the perpetrators are subject to prosecution under Article\r\n400 of the Criminal Code, ” - warns the Prosecutor General’s Office and urges\r\ncitizens to refrain from participating in illegal actions.
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- The\r\nlawyer of Kokshetau the central outpatient hospital, Yerbolat Temerbekov,\r\nattacked the team of the KTK channel while they were recording an interview.
\r\nAccording\r\nto Aizat Turkynbekkyzy, KTK reporter for Aqmola region, on April 9 they came to the central city\r\noutpatient hospital of Kokshetau \r\ntogether with the mother of a little girl who died after receiving a\r\npreventive vaccination against measles.
\r\nWhen the\r\ncameraman was making video of the medical examination report on the causes of\r\nthe child’s death in the corridor of the state hospital, the lawyer \r\nof the organization snatched the microphone from the reporter and began\r\nto push her away with all his might. Then he attacked the cameraman and hit the\r\nvideo camera with the full swing of the microphone. As a result, the microphone\r\nwas smashed, the video camera was damaged, and two fingernails were torn off\r\nthe journalist\'s hand. All this happened in full view of a large number of\r\npeople.
\r\nThe arrived\r\npolicemen took E. Temerbekov to the city police department. Pre-trial\r\ninvestigation was initiated on the fact\r\nof “Hooliganism”.
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- Journalist Alina Sushko acquitted\r\nof libel.
\r\nOn April 19, the court number 2 of Kostanay acquitted\r\nAlina Sushko, a correspondent for the TobolInfo news agency, innocent of a\r\ncriminal offense under art. 130 h. 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of\r\nKazakhstan (“Libel”) for absence of elements of crime in the act.
\r\nThe court also ordered to recover legal costs in the\r\namount of 60,000 tenge from the private prosecutor in favor of the\r\njournalist and recognize the right of\r\nthe acquitted to compensation for moral damage caused by unlawful criminal\r\nprosecution.
\r\nAlina Sushko was accused of libel by the police\r\ncaptain Almat Agadilov, the head of the Kostanai airport’s linear police\r\nstation. The reason was the article \"The head of the airport linear police\r\nstation that was swearing down a subordinate, got a promotion\", published\r\non the news agency website on August 7, 2018.
\r\nThe police captain claims that all information in the\r\nartilce is defamatory and damages the honor and dignity of his entire family.
\r\n11 judicial acts\r\nwere issued against media and citizens in connection with the exercise of the\r\nright to freedom of expression , the receipt and dissemination of information\r\non cases of protection of honor, dignity and business reputation in April. 7 of\r\nthem were in favor of the media, journalists and citizens.
\r\nThe following charges were filed\r\nin April in connection with the exercise of the right to freedom of expression:
\r\n- 5 criminal charges, including 4 in\r\ncourt.
\r\n- 3 claims\r\nand suits in civil procedure. Among them, 3 claims and lawsuits for protection\r\nof honor, dignity and business reputation.
\r\n- Claims\r\nfor compensation for non-pecuniary damage on cases on protection of honor,\r\ndignity and business reputation amounted to 1 million 100 thousand tenge in April.\r\n
\r\nThe following charges were filed\r\nsince the beginning of the year:
\r\n- 16 criminal charges.
\r\n- 28\r\nclaims and suits in civil procedure.
\r\nAmong\r\nthem, 27 claims and lawsuits for protection of honor, dignity and business\r\nreputation.
\r\n- Claims\r\nfor compensation for non-pecuniary damage amounted to 65 million 100 thousand tenge.\r\nThecourtscollected 1 million750 thousandtenge.
\r\n- 5 – administrativeoffencecharge.
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The monitoring was done\r\naccording to reports of the Adil Soz Foundation\'s correspondents and\r\ninformation from open sources.
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Head of monitoring\r\nservice of Adil Soz Foundation Elena Tsoi
\r\ne-mail: lena@adilsoz.kz
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For all questions\r\nregarding the monitoring, you may also contact
\r\ninfo@adilsoz.kz
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