Nargiz and Vladimir Severny sentenced to long prison terms

The Specialized Inter-District Criminal Court in Almaty found Nargiz and Vladimir Severny guilty under Article 194 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Extortion) and sentenced Vladimir Severny to 7 years of imprisonment in a medium-security facility, while Nargiz Severny received an 8 year prison term with a 5-year deferment, as she has a minor child in her care. The time spent in custody since April 2023 was credited towards the sentence at a rate of one day for one and a half days served.
According to the prosecution, the spouses extorted 15 million tenge from entrepreneur Zareta Fataliyeva from Aktau in April of this year and 200,000 tenge from an entrepreneur in Almaty in June 2019 to prevent the publication of negative material. Nargiz Severny was found guilty in both episodes, while Vladimir Severny was acquitted in the case involving Fataliyeva.
Journalists and their lawyers disagree with the verdict. Nargiz Severny stated her intention to appeal the verdict. According to the Severnys' lawyer, Elena Zhigalenok, there are many inaccuracies in the case, and all doubts about the guilt of the accused should be interpreted in their favor, according to Article 77 of the Constitution of Kazakhstan.
An examination of the transcripts of the audio recordings confirmed that Nargiz Severny's words did not include a demand for money but merely encouragement – a request. An examination initiated by the defense also confirmed that there were no negative assessments of the victims' personalities or threats against them in the words of the Severny family.
Nevertheless, during the closing arguments on November 28, the prosecutor requested that the journalists, Vladimir and Nargiz Severny, be found guilty of extortion and each be sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment.