Guilty verdict on interfering with journalists’ activity is being appealed in Petropavlovsk

On March 17, 2023, the North Kazakhstan Regional Court began considering the appeal of Sultan Sagandykov, the head of the security service of the Dostyk Moll, against his guilty verdict on charges in interfering with legal professional activity of Khabar 24 TV.

As it was reported, on August 2, 2021 Khabar 24 TV team was covering work of ASHIQ (COVID-19 prevention system) in the Dostyk Mall shopping and entertainment center.  DostykMall security guards forcibly escorted the journalists out of the building. Samat Dzhakupov, Natalya Volkova and cameraman Tolegen Imanov filed a complaint with the police. Criminal investigation under Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Interfering of the legal professional activities of a journalist) was dropped for several times and launched again after complaints filed by journalists.

As a result, the charge was brought against Sultan Sagandykov, the head of the security service of the mall. On February 8, 2023, he was found guilty under Part 2 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan – using official position to interfere with legal professional activities of journalists by creating conditions that prevented journalists from performing their legal professional activities and damaging their to property. The court sentenced him to 1 year of restriction of freedom. In addition, Sagandykov must pay a forced payment of 10 MCI (29,170 tenge) to the victims' compensation fund.

On the basis of the law "On amnesty in connection with the thirtieth anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan", Sultan Sagandykov was released from the main punishment.

At today's meeting, Sagandykov's lawyer insisted that the cameraman is not a journalist, and the convict did not interfere with the activity of other members of the TV team. As for damage to property, the video camera was not damaged seriously. Thus, the lawyer believed that his client had no intention to interfere with the journalists’ activity and to damage their property, and therefore should not be found guilty.

The representative of the injured journalists, Dmitry Baranov, and the journalists themselves consider the verdict fair and legal.

As of August 2, 2021, special COVID-19 prevention legal acts were in force, and related information was of particular public importance. In addition, according to TV team’s lawyer, this verdict not just affect the convict, but has a huge preventive character, and therefore should be upheld.