Expert evidence found no legal offence in the statements of Orda.kz reporter

There is no legal offence neither in the words nor actions of Islambek Dastan, Orda.kz reporter. That was the counclusion made by experts of Zhambyl region branch of the Center of forensic expertise. The investigator that carried out pre-trial investigation into the dissemination of deliberately false information presented the official expert testimony  to the journalist.

As it was reported, on August 26, Islambek Dastan, Orda.kz reporter, happened to be  at the place of the explosions in the Zhambyl region and started making a video of what was happening. A few days later, he and Daniyar Alimkul  TV Channel 7 reporter were summoned for questioning by the police. Islambek Dastan was in the status of a witness, Daniyar Alimkul turned out to be a  protected witness. According to the journalist's lawyer Aliya Arzymbetova, there were no victims or suspects in the case. The journalists were interrogated for more than two hours, and then they were made to sign a non-disclosure agreement concerning the investigation data.

On September 16, the Orda.kz editorial office appealed to the Minister of Information and Social Development Aida Balayeva, but answer of the minister was very vague - she said that  journalists should check the information.